RM11bil in unclaimed money belonging to the public, says Ahmad Maslan

PUTRAJAYA: There is approximately RM11bil in unclaimed money (WTD) belonging to the public as of March, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

The Deputy Finance Minister said the amount was out of the RM14.1bil received by the Accountant-General’s Department (JANM) from companies or firms in accordance with Section 8 of the Unclaimed Money Act 1977 (Act 370) until last month.

Of the total amount, about RM3.2bil, such as in savings accounts, insurance and deposits, had been refunded to its owners, he said.

"A large portion of the RM11bil in WTD has been invested by the government in fixed deposits in accordance with the Financial Procedure Act 1957, (and) the interest earned (from fixed deposits) is accounted for in the Consolidated Revenue Account.

"From that fixed deposit, we get RM250mil in interest and we use that money for the people," he told reporters after a visit to JANM here Wednesday (April 12).

Ahmad said WTD is defined as money that is legally payable to the owner but has remained unpaid for a period of not less than one year, money standing to the credit of an account that has not been operated in whatever manner by the owner for a period of not less than seven years and money to the credit of a trade account that has remained dormant for a period of not less than two years.

He urged owners of the unclaimed money to claim their money by submitting an application through the eGUMIS portal, at JANM counters nationwide or by mail sent directly to the WTD Putrajaya office.

According to him, the eGUMIS portal launched in 2020 received about 17.2 million visitors as of last month with the number of registered users being almost 4.4 million users.

"During the same period, a total of 354,912 online WTD claim applications were received and of that amount, a total of RM199mil in claim amount was processed," he said, adding that JANM was developing the eGUMIS Mobile application which can be used in the fourth quarter of this year.

Ahmad said the government also intends to amend Act 370, involving the period of transfer to the Consolidated Revenue Account from 15 years to 10 years, to redefine WTD according to Sections 8(a) and 8(c) of Act 370, and the amount of fines imposed on companies or firm for non-compliance.

"This act has not been amended for a long time,” he said, adding that the government expects to table the proposed amendments at the end of this year. - Bernama