§ 26. Refunds when sales cannot be completed. Within three years after the receipt thereof, moneys heretofore received by the division of the land office in the department of state and transferred to the office of general services or heretofore or hereafter received by the office of general services on account of sales of interests in real property ordered by the office of general services or its predecessor, the board of commissioners of the land office, may be refunded to the person or party for whose account same were received, upon satisfactory proof being submitted to the commissioner of general services that the sale or sales so ordered cannot be completed by the issuance of letters patent or an instrument of conveyance.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section one hundred twenty-one of the state finance law, such refunds shall, upon approval by the commissioner of general services and after audit by the comptroller, be paid from any moneys in the custody of the office of general services or heretofore transferred or received from the division of the land office as proceeds of sale of real property, except that moneys derived from the sale of detached parcels of forest preserve lands as provided in section twenty-four of the public lands law shall not be used to make refunds with respect to inability to complete sales affecting other lands and such moneys shall be the sole fund from which to make refunds in cases of inability on the part of the state to complete sales, as aforesaid, of such detached parcels of forest preserve lands.