Members of the Board of the Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF) have been hit with a K40 million fine each by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) for defying regulatory directives in the controversial purchase of Amaryllis Hotel.
The penalty, which must be paid within ten days, was imposed after the board allegedly ignored multiple warnings from the central bank to halt the transaction.
Appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), RBM official Kaluso Chihana revealed that the PSPTF board pushed ahead with the deal despite clear instructions to stop, citing advice they had received from EMJ Advisory.
Chihana said the board was repeatedly cautioned against proceeding with the acquisition unless they could provide solid justification, but chose to press on—an action he described as outright defiance of the regulator.
“The Reserve Bank gave them several opportunities to comply, but they continued regardless. This is a serious breach, and the penalty was necessary,” he told the committee.
He further disclosed that the RBM ordered the board to reverse the transaction within seven days, raising further questions about the legality and due diligence surrounding the deal.
Meanwhile, financial investigations have traced approximately K72.6 billion linked to the transaction into various accounts. Authorities have since moved to secure a large portion of the funds, restricting access to prevent withdrawals.
The Amaryllis Hotel deal has sparked widespread public concern, with critics questioning how such a massive transaction could proceed in the face of regulatory resistance.
As pressure mounts, all eyes are now on whether the PSPTF board will comply with the RBM’s directives—or face even tougher consequences.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.