Sheriffs Act, 1986 (Act No. 90 of 1986)Chapter III : Position of Trust of SheriffsAccounts for trust moneys22. Accounts for trust moneys |
| (1) | Every sheriff shall open and keep a separate trust account, which shall contain a reference to this subsection, with a banking institution or building society, and shall forthwith deposit therein the moneys held or received by him on account of any person. |
| (2) |
| (a) | A sheriff may invest in a separate savings or other interest-bearing account opened by him with a banking institution or building society any money deposited in his trust account and not immediately required for any particular purpose. |
| (b) | A savings or other interest-bearing account referred to in paragraph (a) shall contain a reference to this subsection. |
| (3) | The amount standing to the credit of an account opened by a sheriff in terms of subsection (1) or (2), shall not form part of the assets of that sheriff or, if he dies or becomes insolvent, of his deceased or insolvent estate. |
| (4) | Interest on money in an account mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) shall, unless the person on whose behalf the sheriff is holding or has received those moneys, in writing indicates otherwise, be paid in the prescribed manner to the Fund by the sheriff concerned: Provided that, before a sheriff pays the interest to the Fund, he or she may deduct his or her expenses incurred in respect of his or her trust account, from the interest accrued on the trust account in accordance with a tariff and procedure prescribed by the Board. |
[Section 22(4) substituted by section 7 of Act No. 74 of 1998]
(5)
| (a) | Any money held in the trust account of a sheriff in respect of which the identity of the owner is unknown or which is unclaimed after one year, must, after the second annual closing of the accounting records of the sheriff following the date upon which those funds were deposited in the trust account of the sheriff, be paid in the prescribed manner to the Fund by the sheriff concerned. |
| (b) | Nothing in this subsection deprives the owner of the money contemplated in paragraph (a) of the right to claim from the Fund any portion as he or she may prove an entitlement to. |
[Section 22(5) inserted by section 19 of Act No. 8 of 2017 - effective 31 January 2020 as per Proclamation No. R. 5, GG42987, dated 31 January 2020]