K72.6bn Pension Funds Traced, Frozen in RBM Crackdown on PSPTF Scandal
The Reserve Bank of Malawi has traced approximately K72.6 billion from the Public Service Pension Trust Fund in various accounts, with a significant portion now frozen, director of Pension and Insurance Supervision Kaluso Chihana has disclosed.
Chihana disclosed this before the Parliament Public Accounts Committee today, saying the central bank moved to preserve funds after uncovering serious governance breaches.
According to Chihana, on February 27, 2026, letters were dispatched to the Financial Intelligence Authority and commercial banks including National Bank and CDH Investment Bank, directing them to track transactions and freeze investment accounts linked to the pension fund.
Chihana told the committee that the registrar’s office also imposed administrative penalties on March 4, 2026 against trustees for disobeying directives under Section 135 of the Pension Act.
He explained that the penalties followed failure to submit sale agreement documentation within required timeframes.
“Administrative penalties were imposed on trustees for not receiving the sale agreement within the specified timeframes,” said Chihana.
He said the seven-day period for receiving the sale agreement will elapse on March 19, while the ten-day window for paying the K40 million penalties will expire on March 24.
In his presentation, Chihana revealed that substantial payments were made while the fund operated without an active board.
The registrar issued a direction on November 14, 2025 to halt the transaction pending further review.
However, when the board met on November 19, Chihana said the registrar was shocked to learn the sale agreement had already been signed.
He added that some trustees were not even aware of the signing.
