Jahed Mia, a customer of the Bishwanath branch of Islami Bank had Tk63,600 in his account. But for the last 10 years, there has been no transaction. The bank was finally compelled to send a notice to the address given in his bank account.
But even then, no one demanded the money and in the end, all of the unclaimed money was deposited to Bangladesh Bank’s account.
The amount of such unclaimed money deposited in various banks of the country is gradually increasing. In the last two years, the banks have not found any ownership of around Tk72 crore.
The amount of unclaimed money deposited in this account of Bangladesh Bank from 2017 to 2021 is currently at Tk108.18 crore.
According to the Bangladesh Bank, different banks deposited Tk15.21 crore of such unclaimed money in 2017. In 2018, it was Tk10.64 crore, In 2019, the amount of unclaimed money was Tk10.48 crore.
But since then, this amount has started to rise. The following year, the amount of unclaimed money deposited in Bangladesh Bank from banks increased by about 3.5 times.
In 2020, Tk34.45 crore has been deposited. In 2021, Tk37.38 crore was deposited.
However, according to a report of the Bangladesh Bank, they estimate that this amount will be even more. Many banks are still not depositing such money and precious items from their lockers to Bangladesh Bank even after 10 years of no transaction.
Again, some banks are not calculating the information and interest in the correct manner. Banks have been using these funds as their own resources for years.
In this regard, the Executive Director and Spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank Serajul Islam told Dhaka Tribune: “Banks were warned about this after a report came out a few years ago. Banks are now paying unclaimed deposits to the central bank. The central bank is depositing the money in the government treasury through a process.”
“However, this is an ongoing process. If such an account is found in any banks, immediate actions will be taken,” he added.
According to Section 35 of the Banking Companies Act, 1991 (as amended 2016), if there is no transaction of a bank account in 10 years and the customer of the deposit cannot be found, the banks have to deposit the money to Bangladesh Bank.
The instructions of Bangladesh Bank stating the details of depositing unclaimed deposits and valuables said that the money will be refunded if the claimant arrives within two years even after depositing the money from the bank to Bangladesh Bank.
For this, the concerned bank will publish the list of unclaimed deposits and valuables transferred to Bangladesh Bank on their website, in the government gazette and at least two newspapers once every three months for one year.
Information related to this will also be displayed on the website of Bangladesh Bank for one year. Even after this, if no claim is raised within two years, there will be no further claim on the remaining money or materials.
Later, it will be considered as the property of the government.