Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). FILE PHOTO | NMG Billionaire businessmen, former powerful government officials and prominent politicians are in the long list of individuals who risk losing Sh26 billion worth of shares that have been surrendered to the Treasury as idle assets.
The Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) has given the owners of the over 800 million shares up to end of August to claim ownership of the stocks.
The authority has warned that it will sell the listed shares through the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and stocks in non-listed firms through public auction from September 1.
Many Kenyans, said the authority, remain disinterested in pursuing funds legally belonging to them or their families.
“Members of the public are notified that various institutions have reported over 800 million units of unclaimed shares among other assets,” the UFAA said in a public notice.
“The authority wishes to advise apparent owners or beneficiaries to lodge claims. Shares not claimed as at August 31 may be sold by the authority (UFAA) as per the law.”
The shares targeted for sale are those whose owners have failed to participate in corporate actions for at least three years.
The actions include attending annual shareholder meetings, collection of dividends or taking up additional shares during stock splits.
Most of the assets, now in the custody of the UFAA, have been surrendered by public listed firms, insurance companies, banks, pension schemes, legal firms, telecoms operators and saccos, among others.
The unclaimed shares stood at 132.1 million, worth Sh9.36 billion, in 2016.
The law requires the holding company to search for the rightful owners of an asset before declaring it unclaimed and forwarding it to the UFAA.A Business Daily review of the authority’s public database found a long list of prominent Kenyans whose funds have helped swell the fund.Top among them is former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka whose fortune was picked from Standard Chartered Bank , KCB and Co-operative Bank .Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula is at risk of losing his NCBA , Housing Finance , East Africa Cables , East Africa Breweries , and Airtel Networks shares.Also in the list is former Cabinet minister Simeon Nyachae, whose KCB, Safaricom and Cooperative Bank shares have been forwarded to the UFAA.The former minister controls a vast business empire with interests in manufacturing, transport, banking and large-scale farming.Longtime intelligence chief James Kanyotu, politician JM Kariuki and former Cabinet minister Mbiyu Koinange – since deceased — are among prominent individuals whose dividends […]