Malawi: Inside the K5 Billion Amaryllis Cash-Out - Collins Magalasi At the Centre of the Operation
The Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) is at the centre stage of failing to act in the controversial and dubious cash withdrawals amounting to a whopping K5 billion from the sale of Amaryllis Hotel, now under parliamentary probe.
We can reveal that FIA boss Jean Piriminta was sacked from her position after she 'leaked' a Central Circuit Television (CCTV) footage of the transactions, just two days after it was handed over to her by National Bank of Malawi (NBM) officials.
We can also reveal that the footage shows clearly some State House officials withdrawing K1.5 billion on two separate days on 23 January and 28 January 2026 by Charles Gibson Nankhuni and the whole operation was being overseen by former Personal Secretary to President Peter Mutharika and also former Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) Chief Executive Officer Collins Magalasi.
This means that K3 billion was withdrawn in cash at Capital City NBM Service Centre and delivered to State House. The owner of Amaryllis Hotel, Shiraz Yusuf is said to have issued the cheques to Nankhuni and confirmed the same to the bank to make the pay-outs.
The footage shows a convoy of unmarked vehicles from State House and a contingent of more than 15-armed Police Officers who were taking instructions from Magalasi.
How it all started
When the deal to buy Amaryllis Hotel was done by the Civil Servants Pensions Trust at K128 billion (discounted from K132 billion being asked by Yusuf Investments), an initial payment of K90 billion was paid through the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM). RBM CLEARED NBM plc to recover its K26 billion loan from the initial amount and the rest was given to Yusuf Investments.
According to our source, privy to the go-ons of the deal, Yusuf Investments started paying off business partners they owed during the time they were going through financial difficulties and most of them preferred to get their money in cash, hence the use of the cheques.
These payments were made from January 2026 to early March 2026 when the probe of the sale of the hotel by parliament started and the transactions on the account were suspended.
The biggest cash out was on 23 January 2026 by Nankhuni, who had earlier on the previous day visited NBM Capital City Service Centre to withdraw the money but was told to come the following day as the amount was 'too huge' to be withdrawn on the day.
"After Nankhuni was told to withdraw the money the following day, NBM officials checked with the owner of the account if he indeed issued the cheque and he confirmed it. The Bank then contacted FIA to inform them of the impending large transaction for their knowledge and they never got any instruction or reaction from FIA and that is why the following day the money was cashed," said the source.
This process was also the same with all the other cheques that Yusuf Investments issued to various people for encashment but FIA never acted on them.
Documents in our possession show about 25 withdrawals were recorded between 27 January 2026 and 6 March 2026 from the Yusuf Investments Ltd National Bank account.
Some of the key transactions we have seen are as follows;
January 22 2026: K50 million withdrawn and later deposited into a Blantyre Muslim Jamaat account.
January 27 2026: K100 million withdrawn and deposited into a Food Lover's Market account by Aisha Aubi.
January 27 2026: K75 million withdrawn and deposited into Centenary Services Fuel account by Aisha Aubi.
January 23 2026: K1.5 billion withdrawn by Charles Gibson Nankhuni; the same amount was withdrawn again three days later.
February 2026: K10 million withdrawn and later deposited into LMJ Hospital account by Fabian Chibule.
March 2 2026: K10 million deposited into Blantyre Muslim Jamaat account.
January 27 2026: K167 175,000 withdrawn by Mark Kaliati . On the same day Aisha Aubi withdrew four cheques: K20,075,000; K50 million; K25 million; and K17 million. Charles Gibson also withdrew K500 million that day.
January 28 2026: Jackson Phiri withdrew K10 million; Mark Kaliati withdrew K150 million.
February 9 2026: Dorothy Masina withdrew K43 million.
February 11 2026: Aisha Aubi withdrew K19 175,000.
February 17 2026: Mark Kaliati withdrew K265 million.
February 18 2026: Jackson Phiri withdrew K19 250 000.
February 19 2026: Rashird Alli withdrew K250 million; he made another transaction of K100 million on 24 February.
March 2 2026: Aisha Aubi withdrew K45 million.
March 4 2026: A. Chalenga withdrew K10 million.
March 6 2026: Mark Kaliati withdrew K400 million.
Sources said most of the people who made the withdrawals are drivers and workers at State House and of some cabinet ministers and high-top ranking government officials.
FIA requests for CCTV Footage
In the heat of the inquiry, pressure was mounting on FIA on why they did not act on these withdrawals which mostly looked suspicious and that is when its Director General Jean Phillipo Piriminta requested for CCTV footage from NBM plc which was delivered to her.
But Piriminta is said to have shared the footage with her officers and some from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). In no time, the footage leaked.
Government moved swiftly to sack Pirimita from her position including Collins Chitsime, FIA Director of Legal Affairs.
"I think the Director was reckless, she viewed the CCTV footage and saw some of the big people who have been implicated in this saga and they include people from State House and cabinet ministers but she shared that sensitive material to officers who have now leaked it. That is why she has been removed from her position," said our impeccable source.
FIA complacency
A governance expert who did not want to be named said FIA was complacent in the whole saga as despite getting Large Currency Transaction Reports (LCTR) and Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR) never acted on them until 'there was too much heat'.
"FIA was supposed to act after getting these reports. The bank gave them information, at least 24 hours before the huge encashments were done but instead of moving in they just sat idle until people started asking questions of their role.
"You cannot blame the Bank here, FIA had all the information and they did not act. The Bank cannot stop someone from cashing their money. In fact, the bank is supposed to 'pay on demand' by a customer and they can be punished by RBM if they fail to pay money legitimately owned by a customer, the bank is not an enforcement agency," he said.
Hotel Valuations
A Valuation expert has clarified about the various valuations of the controversial Amaryllis Hotel sale which was sold at a 'staggering' K128 billion from an initial valuation of K78 billion done in 2023.
"I think a lot of people are just emotional on the issue of the price of Amaryllis Hotel at K128 billion. We need to understand that there were two valuations done in 2023, the first one was a business valuation which was pegged at K30 billion and the property valuation which was at K78 billion. These are two different valuations and should not be confused."
"The business valuation was looking at how much business the hotel was generating or was capable of generating in 2023 which was around K30 billion but the property valuation was at K78 billion and this was in 2023. So, obviously the property valuation in 2023 cannot be the same up to the time that it was sold three years later," he said.
He gave comparison examples of Blantyre Hotel's Ryalls Hotel which is now valued at K80 billion and it only has two floors while Amaryllis Hotel is a 7 floor and only five-star hotel in the country.
"Currently, there is this Lifestyle Hotel which is being built in Blantyre where there was Mulika Club, the property value is now more than K78 billion and is yet to finish. It will be more than K100 billion. The one being built at Lilongwe Golf Club is now in the region of K160 billion and is yet to finish, it will definitely hit more than K200 billion. So, I don't understand why people are raising issues with the valuation of Amaryllis Hotel at K128 billion," he said.
This article originally appeared on Nyasa Times.