2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE SEVEN - Banking (§§ 1 — 3116) › PART VI - Control And Supervision (§§ 2001 — 2109) › Chapter 133 - Money and Other Liquid Assets Abandoned or Unclaimed (§§ 2101 — 2109) › § 2103 - Presumption

(a) Those sums of money and other liquid assets, as defined in this chapter, in the custody of a financial institution plus the interest or dividends that the same have accrued or accumulated and after deducting the charges legally imposed thereon, shall be presumed as abandoned and unclaimed when, within the five (5) preceding years, the owner has shown no interest in said money or liquid assets, in any of the following ways:
(1) Making some transaction with regard to said money or other liquid assets, including the presentation of a book or similar document to write or credit therein the accrued interest or dividends.
(2) Communicating in writing with the financial institution in custody of said money or other liquid assets.
(3) Showing his interest in said money or other liquid assets in any way.
In the case of certified checks, certified money orders, bank, postal or other money orders, and travelers checks drawn by any financial institution, they shall be presumed as abandoned or unclaimed when the same have not been presented for payment to the drawer or drawee within five (5) years after having drawn the same.
(b) The sums of money and other liquid assets, as defined in this chapter, in the custody of a holder, plus the interest or dividends they have accrued or accumulated and deducting the charges legally imposed, shall be presumed as abandoned or unclaimed when after the obligation to return or pay said money or other liquid assets has matured and the owner has been advised that these are at his disposal, five (5) years have elapsed from their maturity, without the owner having claimed or stated in writing his interest in the same.
(c) The financial institution that alleges or sustains that any of the three (3) actions described above has been carried out within the five (5) preceding years, must prove it with attesting evidence, be it through the presentation of an appropriate and official record kept in the normal course of business from where it clearly and unequivocally arises that a transaction was conducted with regard to the money or other liquid assets, or by presenting written evidence that proves, beyond any doubt that the owner has an interest in the money or other liquid assets in the custody of said financial institution, and in which he informs it of his address and other relevant circumstances to be located.
(d) The holder who alleges or sustains that within the five (5) years after the maturity of his obligation to return or pay any sum of money or other liquid assets, its owner has claimed them or has stated his interest in them, must show it with attesting evidence, be it through an official and appropriate record kept in the normal course of business from where it clearly and unequivocally arises that the claim and payment was made or through the presentation of written evidence that shows, beyond any doubt, that the owner has an interest in the sum of money or other liquid assets in the custody of said holder, and in which he informs it of his address and other relevant circumstances to be located.
(e) Every holder of abandoned or unclaimed money or other liquid assets belonging to persons whose last known address is in Puerto Rico and who, pursuant to the laws of the state or territory where they are located, are required to report such property, shall have the obligation to report and turn such property over to the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico. This provision shall also apply to moneys or other liquid assets held by a financial institution or holder, as well as to money or other liquid assets reported by a financial institution or holder to another state, possession, or territory of the United States, regardless of the date on which they were reported.
Said financial institutions or holders shall be exempt from meeting the publication requirements provided in § 2105 of this title and meet the requirements of publication and notice to the owner set forth in the laws of the state, territory or possession of the United States where they are located.
As for international banking entities, these shall be required to report and turn such property over to the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico. International banking entities shall be exempt from meeting the requirement of publishing a notice in a newspaper of general circulation set forth in § 2105 of this title, but shall be required to publish such notice on their corresponding websites.
History —July 28, 1989, No. 36, p. 116, § 4; Sept. 2, 2000, No. 346, § 1; Sept. 29, 2012, No. 294, § 1.