​Gov't estimates billions locked away in their dormant accounts

Finance Minister Audley Shaw says he’ll be writing to some financial institutions amid reports of their reluctance to fully disclose information on dormant government accounts.

Speaking in the House of Representatives yesterday, Shaw said he was surprised to learn a few days ago that when government entities seek information on their accounts, only partial information is provided by the banks.

Shaw says he’ll be writing to them to request detailed reports on all dormant government accounts, with the intention to close them as soon as possible.

It’s estimated that about $45 billion are locked away in dormant accounts at various financial institutions.

Many of these accounts are reportedly government-held accounts.

The Government started an exercise to close dormant and inactive accounts held by various ministries, departments and agencies in December 26.