There’s RM5.7 Billion Unclaimed Money in M’sian Banks, Here’s How You Can Get a Refund

Recently, a report in The Star revealed that a large amount of money has been left unclaimed by Malaysians who have dormant bank accounts.

According to the Accountant General’s Department of Malaysia (AGD), unclaimed money is defined as follows;

• Money which is legally payable to the owner but has remained unpaid for a period of not less than one year (e.g. dividend, salaries, bonuses, commissions, wages, and other payments due to employees, profits declared for distributions, etc.)
• 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 (e.g. savings or current accounts, fixed deposits with automatic renewal instructions)
• Money to the credit of a trade account that has remained dormant for a period of not less than two years (e.g. trade creditors account and trade debtors account with credit balance)

Source: The Star

So, if you’re one of the millions of Malaysians with accounts like these, don’t worry because chances are, your money is safe!

Unclaimed money is usually kept for safekeeping by the Registrar of Unclaimed Money under the AGD in a consolidated trust account.

Apparently, as of June this year, there are about 55 million records of unclaimed money since 1977, amounting to a total of RM5.779 billion!

Source: The Sun

So, how do you go about getting your money back if you realise you have unclaimed money? According to their website, the AGD advises you to prepare the following;

1. Fill in the UMA-7 form (application form for refund of unclaimed money)
2. A copy of your MyKad (front and back) or passport for non-citizens
3. Original documents (e.g. your bankbook or fixed deposit certificates)
4. A confirmation letter from the company/bank that submitted the unclaimed money (if 3 is not available)
5. A copy of the first page of your bankbook or bank statement of your active account that can be authorised by the bank, or a letter of administration to the estate issued by the High Court, Department of Lands and Mines or Amanahraya.

These documents should be submitted to the Registrar of Unclaimed Money either in person or by post.

However, don’t expect anything if you think you can earn interest from these refunds. Deputy Finance Minister II Datuk Lee Chee Leong told The Star that this is a common misconception.

Source: Malay Mail

Whatever money that will be refunded will have no addition or deduction from the original amount.

Also, there is no deadline by which Malaysians need to get this done if they want a refund of their unclaimed money.

“The government is also developing an online system for checking and applying for refunds. It will be ready by next year,” the deputy finance minister told the daily.

He also stressed that companies bound by the Unclaimed Moneys Act (1965) have to maintain unclaimed money records and their funds should be submitted to the Registrar every year by the 31st of March. If not, they can get fined up to RM200,000 for a repeated offence, with a subsequent fine of up to RM1,000 for every day the offence is carried on.

So, now you know what to do in the event that you have unclaimed money! For more information about unclaimed money, visit the AGD website here.

Also read: Malaysians are Concerned About the New Digital Tax, Here’s What You Should Know