Unclaimed Property Laws: Gaps, Risks, and the Need for Reform

Overview of Ghana’s Unclaimed Property Laws

Unclaimed property regimes, often referred to as escheat laws, are crucial in safeguarding citizens’ assets by ensuring that abandoned or forgotten funds are preserved and, where applicable, returned to their rightful owners. In Ghana, however, the legal framework surrounding unclaimed assets is fragmented, leading to gaps in protection and accountability.

Existing statutes and regulations address various categories of unclaimed assets, such as deceased estates, unclaimed dividends, and the disposal of certain abandoned physical goods. However, there is no comprehensive, modern legal regime that effectively handles financial unclaimed property held by companies and institutions when the owners are still alive. This lack of a unified system undermines public accountability, creates opportunities for corporate opacity, and leaves Ghanaians without clear remedies when funds like dividends, deposits, insurance payouts, or other financial instruments go unclaimed over long periods.

Current Legal Landscape

Ghana’s legal instruments treat different categories of unclaimed or abandoned assets in a piecemeal fashion:

Deceased Estates and Probate: The Administration of Estates Act (Act 63, 1961) and the Intestate Succession Law (PNDCL 111, 1985) outline how assets of deceased persons are identified, administered, and distributed through probate and letters of administration. These statutes govern how courts and the Administrator-General handle the estates of the deceased.
Unclaimed Property on Government Premises: An Unclaimed Property Decree (NLCD 371) and related older statutes address property found on government premises and public land, typically governing physical items located on public property.
Abandoned Physical Property: The Abandoned Property (Disposal) Act (NRCD 308, 1974) authorizes the removal and disposal of certain abandoned physical items such as scrap metal, timber, signboards, and similar items primarily to address public safety and land management, not to provide remedies for financial assets belonging to private citizens.
Unclaimed Dividends and Company Duties: The Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) introduces specific duties concerning unclaimed dividends. Under the new Act, where dividends remain unclaimed for a statutory period, companies must place such dividends in interest-bearing unclaimed dividend accounts, and there are provisions for management by the Registrar of Companies. Regulatory guidance published by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) elaborates on processes for handling and reporting unclaimed dividends.

Taken together, these laws demonstrate that Ghana currently focuses on settling estates of the deceased, disposing of physically abandoned items on public land, and regulating a particular subset of corporate liabilities (unclaimed dividends). What Ghana lacks is a comprehensive unclaimed property regime that applies to a broad array of financial assets held by companies and institutions, obliges proactive reporting and remittance to a public registry after standardized dormancy periods, and provides robust mechanisms for reunifying owners with their assets.

Why the Gap Matters

The absence of a unified unclaimed property law for financial assets owned by living persons creates several problems:

Assets Fall into Legal Limbo: Without clear dormancy standards and mandatory reporting/remittance, companies can indefinitely retain funds such as dormant customer deposits, unpaid insurance payouts, old payroll credits, or unclaimed vendor payments without centralized oversight. Over time, these funds are effectively removed from productive circulation, and their owners lose access.
Weakened Public Accountability: When registered companies hold unclaimed funds without transparent reporting, it undermines confidence in corporate governance. A comprehensive reporting requirement and an accessible public registry would create accountability and make it easier for regulators, auditors, and civil society to track and audit dormant liabilities.
Inequitable Outcomes for Vulnerable Citizens: Lower-income or geographically mobile citizens—those who change addresses, migrate for work, or have limited financial literacy—are disproportionately likely to lose track of financial assets. A modern unclaimed property system can include outreach and claimant-reunification processes targeted at these groups.
Regulatory Arbitrage and Enforcement Gaps: Fragmentary regulation makes enforcement inconsistent. For example, while the SEC and Registrar have rules for dividends, enforcement capacity, and reporting harmonization between agencies, audit trails remain uneven across financial sectors. This fragmentation raises the risk that firms might exploit loopholes to avoid remitting dormant liabilities.

International Practice

Most jurisdictions with effective unclaimed property laws combine several elements:

Defined Dormancy Periods by Asset Class: e.g., two to five years for bank deposits, three years for dividends, etc.
Mandatory Reporting: By custodians to a central public authority or escheat fund when assets are dormant.
Public Registry: Of unclaimed assets searchable by name, allowing claimants to find assets without needing to know the custodian.
Owner-Reunification Programs: That include outreach, advertising, and streamlined claims processes.
Penalties and Audit Powers: To ensure compliance, plus a clear mechanism for the public authority to manage, invest, or return funds.

Adopting these building blocks would enable Ghana to protect citizen assets while strengthening corporate transparency.

Recommended Reforms for Ghana

To close the accountability gap and safeguard citizen assets, Ghana should consider a coherent statutory reform package that includes the following elements:

Enact a Comprehensive Unclaimed Financial Assets Act: The law should define “unclaimed financial assets” broadly, covering bank balances, dividends, insurance proceeds, pension overpayments, vendor credits, and other financial instruments. It should set clear dormancy periods per asset class and require mandatory reporting to a designated national registry after the dormancy period.
Designate a Central Unclaimed Property Authority: Assigning responsibility to an existing agency (e.g., Registrar General’s Department, the Bank of Ghana, or a new standalone authority) to maintain a public registry, accept remittances, and administer reunification and claims processes.
Mandate Reporting and Regular Audits: Require annual or more frequent reporting from all regulated custodians, such as banks, insurance companies, pension funds, stock brokers, and corporations, on dormant accounts and unclaimed liabilities. Provide the Centralized Unclaimed Property Authority with audit powers and the ability to impose sanctions for non-compliance.
Create a Public, Searchable Online Registry: A user-friendly portal would enable citizens, auditors, and civil society to search for unclaimed assets by name and reference number.
Embed Proactive Owner-Reunification and Outreach: The law should require custodians and CUPA to engage in claimant tracing through direct contact, public notices, and targeted outreach before or after remittance.
Preserve Rights and Provide Clear Disposition Rules: The statute should protect owners’ rights to claim assets indefinitely or for a long statutory period, while also allowing the authority to invest dormant funds in low-risk instruments for the public benefit until claimed.
Harmonize Cross-Sector Regulation: Align the Companies Act (which addresses dividends) and SEC guidance with the CUPA’s rules to prevent regulatory gaps and duplication.

Governance Case for Reform

Implementing a modern unclaimed property regime is not merely a consumer-protection measure; it is a governance and public-finance reform. When companies reliably report and remit dormant liabilities to a public authority, it improves government oversight of private-sector liabilities, strengthens corporate governance by forcing firms to maintain better record-keeping, and supports fiscal transparency by ensuring that previously hidden liabilities are visible to regulators and auditors.

These outcomes align with Ghana’s broader goals of improving the business environment, protecting investors, and reinforcing the rule of law.

Conclusion: From Legal Patchwork to Robust Public Accountability

Ghana’s current statutory framework addresses important but narrow slices of the unclaimed property problem. Yet in an era of increasingly mobile citizens and complex corporate balance sheets, this patchwork approach is no longer sufficient. A modern, centralized unclaimed property regime would protect individuals, reduce financial opacity, and hold registered companies to higher standards of accountability.

Legislators, regulators, and industry stakeholders should act decisively: draft and enact a comprehensive Unclaimed Financial Assets Act; empower a central authority to manage a public registry; harmonize sectoral rules with the new regime; and create clear, enforceable compliance measures. Doing so will not only return money to its rightful owners. It will also strengthen public trust, fortify corporate governance, and advance Ghana’s commitments to transparency and equitable economic opportunity.