Rm12 7bil In Unclaimed Money Awaiting Owners

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Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government has implemented several measures to raise public awareness about the unclaimed funds.
PETALING JAYA: A total of RM12.7 billion in unclaimed money is awaiting its rightful owners as of Jan 31, says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
In a written parliamentary reply to S Kesavan (PH-Sungai Siput), Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said individuals or rightful heirs could claim their unclaimed money by submitting applications online via the eGUMIS portal or visiting the state offices of the accountant-general’s department (AGD).
“The government has implemented several measures to ensure the public is aware of these unclaimed funds and the process to retrieve them.
“AGD has been actively conducting awareness campaigns through government and private sector events, open days, and customer service events at government offices and public venues.
“These initiatives allow the public to check whether they have any unclaimed money. As of 2024, a total of 158 awareness booths and programmes had been held across the country,” he said.
He added that AGD also provides online briefings to government agencies and private organisations to explain how individuals can check and claim their unclaimed funds.
“To improve accessibility, unclaimed money application counters have been established in 24 state and branch offices.
Online scam losses total RM5.77 billion
Meanwhile, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail revealed that online fraud and illegal gambling have resulted in nearly RM6 billion in losses over the past five years.
In a written reply to Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah), Saifuddin said that according to police records, a total of RM8.85 million had been seized from illegal online gambling activities between 2019 and 2024.
“However, online scams had caused significantly greater financial damage, with recorded losses amounting to RM5.77 billion over the same period.
“There were also 56,745 criminal charges related to online fraud crimes during this period,” he said. - FMT

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