The Bank of Maldives (BML) has issued a notice to deactivate 501 dormant accounts.
BML has published the list of dormant accounts and sent letters to the account holders who have made no transactions for the last five years. Accounts that have had no transactions relating to it for a period of five years shall be determined as dormant accounts, as per Section 35 of the Maldives Banking Act.
The Maldives Banking Act requires BML to publish the names of such account holders in a local newspaper and the Government Gazette. The funds are to be transferred to Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) as required under the act if the bank receives no response and the funds were not claimed by the customers after 60 days of publication.
To reactivate the account, customers are required to submit the relevant form and a letter requesting to activate the account at the nearest BML branch. The accounts will be closed and funds in the accounts will be transferred to MMA if BML does not receive a response in writing on or before July 31. After the transfer, customers may claim these funds by submitting the Dormant Account Claim Form to the nearest BML branch.