Dr. Rajan Mahtani Remains The Legal Owner Of The Portland Cement Despite Claim By Ventriglias

For many years, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been contributing to the educational sector of Zambia. This contribution included the establishment of ‘The Steven Malama Award’ which is given to the top law student from Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal education, every year. The winner for the year 2018-19 was Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba who wrote an article in appreciation for the efforts by Dr. Rajan Mahtani. This letter was later published at the ‘Reading Forum’ of the Daily mail, praising for his contribution which not only included a prestigious plaque, but also a sum of K18,500 to the winner which is a significant amount for strengthening the career and future education of the winner.

The second major news which Dr. Rajan Mahtani received this year was the surprising challenge by the Ventriglia family at the Supreme Court. The case of Zambezi Portland Cement was closed on 31st January 2019 when Dr. Rajan Mahtani received majority shareholding and legal ownership of Portland Cement Zambia from judge Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal. This verdict was definitive and final as it was based on the actual evidences and also the previous decision from the Lusaka High Court on the same case was rejected effectively. After more than 1.5 years of this Court of Appeal’s decision, it was challenged by the Ventriglia family for reversal. To evaluate the validity of this appeal, a bench of three judges was established at the Supreme Court. This bench came to the conclusion that the appeal by the Ventriglia family is not viable as they failed to submit their claim within 14 days of the decision from the court of Appeal. This automatically makes the appeal by the Ventriglia family invalid. Furthermore, the bench also said that the circumstances under which the claim was made by the Ventriglia family was suspicious and therefore, was effectively rejected.

Heaps Of Praise For Dr. Rajan Mahtani For Contributing To Legal Education In Zambia

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is one of the few businessmen in Zambia who is known for his transparent and ethical business practices despite of tough situations such as developing a business empire in an underdeveloped and politically overwhelming nation such as Zambia. Despite the several economic and social challenges as well as widespread corruption across the nation, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been able to maintain a clean and transparent image across all his businesses. Apart from his businesses, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is also noted for his significant charitable and philanthropic contributions. Most of these contributions go undetected as there are no public promotions or advertisements about these philanthropic contributions like most of the other businesses.

One of the most critical philanthropic contributions by Dr. Rajan Mahtani in the field of education has been the institution of the Steven Malama award. The Steven Malama award was instituted in the year 2012 in collaboration with Finance Bank Zambia wherein Dr. Mahtani holds the position of the Chairman and ZIALE (Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education) Institute which was given the responsibility of disbursing the award. The award was given for the first time in 2013 and since then it is being given on an yearly basis during the annual gala event. Dr. Rajan Mahtani himself presents the award to the deserving students.

The award is given to the top graduating students from the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education, and the top graduating student must also qualify for bar in their first attempt. The award carries a plaque, a certificate as well as cash prize worth K15,000 which has been of significant financial support for the winning candidates. Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba from the institute was the winner of the Steven Malama award for the year 2018-19. Emmanuel also wrote an article thanking Dr. Rajan Mahtani for his significant contributions in recognising law education, later published at the Daily Mail.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani Contributes To Educational Platform, Students Than Via News Release

Dr. Rajan Mahtani is among the most transparent and ethical businessmen in Zambia. He is known for his noted businesses and ventures as well as his penchant for transparency, ethical and honest business practices. Apart from these, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has also established a positive reputation around himself for his philanthropic and charitable activities. Since his early successes, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been contributing towards the social and economic development of the Zambian nation. At the same time, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is known to expose all those who engage in unethical and illegal practices and has never associated himself with such scrupulous individuals and groups. As such, several newspaper articles, news media and other groups continue to create negative reputation campaigns against Dr. Rajan Mahtani but these campaign are most of the times invalid, fake and are rejected by the media and general people.

On the other hand, Dr. Rajan Mahtani rarely shares or highlights his own philanthropic and charitable activities and these are known to general people only when his contributions are shared by independent newspapers and writers. Recently, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was praised for his philanthropic contributions to the educational sector of Zambia. Dr. Rajan Mahtani via his company Finance Bank Zambia had launched an educational award in 2013. This award is named as Steven Malama Award and it is given every year to the best graduating student from the ZIALE (Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education). The best graduating student also clears Bar in his/her first attempt and this honourable award celebrates the passion and dedication of the student. The award for the year 2018-19 went to Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba who expressed his gratitude towards Dr. Rajan Mahtani by penning his thoughts and sharing it with the Daily Mail. In this newspaper article, Emmanuel also thanked Dr. Mahtani for his personal congratulations letter for his significant achievement as well as shared his gratitude for the huge award money of K15,000 which the topper student receives every year.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Rightly Approaches The Court Of Appeal For Justice In Portland Cement Case

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani’s long-standing patience and perseverance was finally rewarded at the higher Court of Appeal. This decision was given on 31st January 2019, around nine months after the case was registered by Dr. Mahtani at the Court of Appeal. Previous to Court of Appeal, it was the lower Lusaka Court where the case was initially registered. It can be said that the day was a dark day for Dr. Mahtani when he approached the Lusaka High Court with the hope of receiving quick and genuine justice. Rather than providing true justice based on the given evidences and testimonials, justice Nkonde from the Lusaka High Court announced Ventriglias as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia. Considering the availability of significant evidence from Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s end, it can be said that the decision from Lusaka High Court judge was controversial.

Even though the verdict from Lusaka High Court was misdirected and was not expected by Dr. Mahtani, no confidence and faith was lost and higher Court of Appeal was approached for re-appeal. The legal system of a nation provides provision for individuals and businessmen to approach the higher court such as Court of Appeal or Supreme Court in case they are not happy or satisfied with the judgement of the lower court. And in this case, the final decision from the higher Court of Appeal judge clearly established the fact that the decision from the Lusaka High Court judge was indeed misdirected and unethical.

Nevertheless, the judge at the higher Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde and he announced the final decision after looking into evidences, ignored by the previous judge in a controversial manner. Based on the fact that Dr. Mahtani paid one million kwachas to Portland Cement for taking over 58 percent shares of the factory and written details in original shareholders agreement, final verdict gave Dr. Mahtani majority shareholding and ownership of the Portland Cement Zambia.

Ownership Of The Cement Manufacturing Factory Confirmed, Its Dr. Rajan Mahtani After Confirmation

Now that the final verdict has come from the higher Court of Appeal, it is now a known fact that Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is the actual and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. This decision came on 31st January 2019 after a long battle at the Lusaka High Court as well as the Court of Appeal. Often when cases are not finalised as a district level court or some discrepancies are still found in the decision, the issues are generally taken to the higher courts. Zambia is a developing nation and the higher Court of Appeal is among the highest courts within the nation. As such, it was natural for Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani to approach the Court after Lusaka High Court gave an extremely controversial judgement.

Justice Mwinde on behalf of the Court of Appeal announced the decision on the Zambezi Portland Cement case. Unlike the Lusaka High Court’s controversial and misdirected decision, the Court of Appeal gave its final decision only after looking into all evidences and testimonials. One of the major evidences was the proof of financial transaction of one billion kwachas or USD 250,000 from Dr. Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments to Zambezi Portland Cement. This amount covered the entire value of the share capital of the Zambezi Portland Cement Limited. While this financial transaction took place in the year 2005, the evidence of this transaction was further found in the original shareholders’ agreement established in the year 2007. In the page number 663 of this original shareholders’ agreement, it is clearly written that Dr. Rajan Mahtani does not owe any further costs associated with the factory. It was also found that all other costs associated with the transaction such as PTT was responsibility of the Vendor.

All these evidences have now clearly established the fact that Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is the only legal owner of the factory.

Top Ministers And Lawyers Accused Of Money Laundering In Zambia

FIC, Financial Intelligence Agency, recently announced devastating news of money laundering. The news shook the nation as top Zambian lawyers were involved in laundering money via personal and professional bank accounts. The news has been condemned by the public and the industrialists alike. Top businessmen like Dr. Rajan Mahtani have shared his grave concerns over the failure of the government to detect this mass money laundering act for so long and its effect on the economic and social status of the Zambian.

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Top Zambian Legal Counsellors Charged For Money Laundering, Fic Reports

Illegal activities such as money laundering are a curse to any developing nation. At one side, there is a government trying to improve the economic and social conditions of the nation. On the other side, there are criminal groups and individuals engaging in illicit activities just so they can be rich at the expense of others. Zambia is facing a similar situation now. The nation has always been a home to corrupt politicians, corporate and powerful individuals who used their power and position to put negative influence and even loot the country of its economic prosperity. While incidents of illegal activities are common across the nation, the recent discovery made by the Financial Intelligence Centre was definitely shocking news to all.

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Corruption Charges Against Top Lawyers For Involvement In Money Laundering

If one were to believe in the reports and accusations made by FIC, it will be clear that the corruption and illegal practices in Zambia are far from over. The nation made some progress in the past few years, thanks to some economic development and establishment of organizations and factories providing livelihood to its people, apart from engaging in agriculture. At the same time, incidents and news such as this reduce the favourability of the nation to grow and attract foreign investments.

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Financial Intelligence Reports Money Laundering Acts Involving Zambian Lawyers

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Money Laundering Act In Zambia Shocks Citizens, Sakwiba Sikota Involved

The Financial Intelligence Centre is a noted intelligence agency that investigates financial frauds in corporate and political domains across the Zambian nation. The agency recently busted an illegal money laundering racket. The most unsettling part of this discovery is the involvement of top lawyers and legal counsellors, along with top officials with the government. Ever since FIC released the list that included the names of individuals involved in the money laundering act, industrialists, corporate houses and common citizens have expressed their concern over the law-making policies and rules that govern the country. Prominent businessmen like Dr. Rajan Mahtani have heavily condemned the act and has demanded strict actions against those caught in this illegal act.

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