(a) At the end of each fiscal year (or as soon thereafter as possible) the Commissioner of Finance shall cause to be prepared a complete and exact list of all checks issued to public creditors by him or by any disbursing officer of the Government of the Virgin Islands (hereinafter in this subchapter referred to as “unpaid Government checks”), which checks have remained outstanding and unpaid for more than one year.
(b) Upon verification of said list by the Commissioner, the amount of all such checks shall be paid into the Treasury of the Virgin Islands by the proper disbursing officers or agents of such fund, to the credit of the General Fund. Upon such payment into the Treasury the Commissioner shall transmit to each depository of governmental funds of the Virgin Islands a copy of the list together with instructions not to pay any check appearing thereon. The Commissioner shall at the same time cause the list to be published once a week for three weeks in newspapers of general circulation in the Virgin Islands. Such publication shall further give notice that (1) all claims represented by unpaid Government checks which are more than one year old and not more than four years old shall be payable only through the issuance of replacement checks, and (2) all claims represented by unpaid Government checks which are more than four years old shall be considered paid and the appropriate moneys automatically escheated to the Government of the United States Virgin Islands.
(c) The payee or bona fide holder of any check issued by the Commissioner or a disbursing officer, which is more than one year old and not more than four years old shall, on presenting the same to the Commissioner accompanied with competent and proper proof of ownership, be entitled to have it paid by the issuance of a replacement check, which shall be paid chargeable to any available funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for which purpose the necessary funds are hereby appropriated without need of making additional appropriations. In any case where the check for which payment is demanded is not presented with the claim, its nonproduction or loss must be satisfactorily accounted for by competent evidence, and in such cases the Commissioner may require the holder to provide adequate security.
(d) No replacement check shall be issued for the payment of any claim where the original check has not been presented to the Department of Finance for payment within a period of four years from the date of issue and all claims against the Government of the United States Virgin Islands, or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, for which checks have been outstanding for this period shall be considered paid. The period of four years is hereby declared to be the longest period of time during which a check issued by the Department of Finance may be honored and all sums or money held by the Department of Finance or appropriated for the payment of such checks not presented within said period are hereby automatically escheated to the Government of the United States Virgin Islands without further process.