Federal Government Plans to Borrow Unclaimed Dividends

The Federal Government through the recently signed Finance Act 2020 has perfected plans to borrow unclaimed dividends of investors.

This was disclosed under Part XII of the Companies and Allied Matters Act in the signed Finance Act 2020.

Part XII described dividends unclaimed within 12 years as special debts and unrecoverable by shareholders. However, actionable only when declared.

The Act stated that unclaimed dividends should be declared as profits and distributed to other shareholders of the company.

“Such unclaimed dividends transferred to the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund shall be a special debt owed by the Federal Government to the shareholders and shall be available for claim by the shareholder at any time, pursuant to the aforementioned perpetual trust,” the Act stated.