Tag Archives: Portland Cement Zambia

Supreme Court Zambia Announces Decision On The Portland Cement Case

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Supreme Court Zambia recently announced its final decision on the Portland Cement Zambia case. In this decision, the bizarre claim by the Ventriglia family was effectively rejected by the Supreme Court. The Ventriglia family, sometime back, made a bizarre claim in which the previous decision from the higher Court of Appeal was questions for its authenticity. It should be noted here that on 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal discarded the decision from the Lusaka High Court and gave a fresh verdict on the Portland Cement Zambia case. In this verdict, Dr. Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments was announced as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory with 58 percent shares. On the other hand, the Ventriglias were announced as minority shareholders with 42 percent shares and without any legal ownership over the factory. The higher Court of Appeal had also clarified the amount to be paid against majority shares which was finalised at K580,000 against K580,000 claimed by the Ventriglias.

After the claim by the Ventriglia family, a bench of three Supreme Court judges was established. These included judge Royda Kaoma, Judge Mumba Malila and Judge Micheal Musonda. During evaluation, the SC bench found that the Ventriglia family failed to comply with a critical legal requirement which is submitting claims against previous court cases within 14 days of the decision. In this case, the higher Court of Appeal had announced its decision on the Portland Cement on 31st January 2019. Based on this, the Ventriglia family applied for their claim after more than 1.5 years, making it invalid. Furthermore, the Supreme Court bench also said that circumstances surrounding the claim by the Ventriglia family was controversial and beyond the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Based on these evidences, the claim by the Ventriglia family was effectively rejected by the Supreme Court Bench.

After Supreme Court’s Decision, Portland Cement Ownership Remains With Dr. Rajan Mahtani

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Decision making across judiciary institutions is a tough act. The judges, lawyers and all individuals associated with a court system are working towards a common goal, giving justice to those seeking it with evaluation of the all evidences. However, despite this common vision, judiciary systems face unprecedented challenges due to lack of transparency, trust and knowledge. More often than not, legal and judiciary systems in developing nations such as Zambia face challenges due to corruption and unethical practices within. A similar challenge was faced by Dr. Rajan Mahtani after he first approached the Zambian judiciary system.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia. For more than three decades, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been relentlessly working towards development of ethical and transparent companies in Zambia. He even worked towards developing Portland Cement Zambia as a profitable and notable companies in Zambia before it was unethically taken over by the Ventriglia family. A case battle started at the Lusaka High Court which dragged for more than a decade. Despite this, the final decision from the Lusaka High Court was controversial with the Ventriglia family announced as only shareholder of the Portland Cement Zambia.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani then approached the higher Court of Appeal. The judge at the higher Court of Appeal gave the decision in favour of Dr. Rajan Mahtani by announcing him the majority shareholder of Portland Cement with 58 percent shares as well as legal owner. This decision from the higher Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019 and after more than 1.5 years of this decision, the Ventriglia family decided to appeal against the decision. This decision was then taken to the Supreme Court Zambia wherein a bench of three SC judges was established for evaluating the claim. After evaluation, it was found that the Ventriglia family failed to register their claim within 14 days of the higher Court of Appeal’s decision. As such, their claim was effectively rejected by the Supreme Court Zambia.

Final Verdict Regarding Portland Cement Zambia Claim By Ventriglia Declared By Supreme Court

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Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is one of the most respected and noted businessman in Zambia. He is respected for not only his acute business sense and successful ventures, but also for his philanthropic and charitable contributions. He is noted for his contributions towards recreational facilities, education sector with establishment of the Steven Malama award and financial contributions. Working in a developing nation like Zambia is never easy, and Dr. Rajan Mahtani continuously faces challenges in the form of corruption, unethical practices. However, Dr. Mahtani has been able to overcome majority of these challenges, sooner or later. One of the biggest challenge which Dr. Mahtani faced was related to Portland Cement Zambia. The cement-manufacturing factory was received by Finsbury Investment via an original shareholders agreement. After receiving majority shareholding and ownership, Finsbury Investment helped bringing loans and funds from banks and financial institutions for completing the factory’s construction and growth plans. This is when the Ventriglia family decided to disrupt the operations by questioning the legality of the shareholders agreement. A case was registered at the Lusaka High Court after the factory was unethically taken over. This case dragged for more than a decade at the Lusaka High Court and despite this, the final decision from the Lusaka High Court was extremely controversial. Justice Nkonde announced Ventriglia family as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement despite lack of evidences from the Ventriglias’ side. Continue reading →

Portland Cement Zambia Ownership After Court Of Appeal’s Decision Remains Unchanged

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As per the latest decision from the Supreme Court on the appeal from the Ventriglia, it is now a confirmed news that Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory. This confirmation was invariable after the Ventriglia family suddenly decided to appeal against the verdict of Court of Appeal on the Portland Cement Zambia case. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is a noted businessman in Zambia who has been working tirelessly towards establishing an authentic and transparent business empire. Some of his top companies in Zambia are Mahtani Group of Companies, Finsbury Investments and Finance Bank Zambia. In the year 2006-07, Finsbury Investments received majority shareholding and ownership of Portland Cement Zambia with the objective of developing the factory and completing the construction. However, all these growth plans were halted when the Ventriglia family decided to challenge the shareholding agreement according to which Finsbury Investments was owner of Portland Cement. This started a significant court battle at the Lusaka High Court lasting for more than a decade. Despite this long pendency, the final verdict which came on 31st January 2019 was controversial as justice Nkonde of Lusaka High Court announced Ventriglias as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was able to successfully challenge this decision at the higher Court of Appeal. On 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal gave the final decision that the verdict from the Lusaka High Court was misdirected and must be reversed. Furthermore, justice Mwinde confirmed that Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments should remain the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory. After more than a year of this verdict, the Ventriglia family challenged it by claiming it to be false. It was challenged at the Supreme Court Zambia. After detailed evaluation, the Supreme Court bench concluded that the claim from the Ventriglia family was invalid and therefore, was effectively rejected.

Bench Of Three SC Judges Evaluate The Appeal From The Ventriglia Family Regarding Higher Court Of Appeal’s Verdict

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If the court proceedings and verdicts are to be considered, the case of Portland Cement Zambia was over on 31st January 2019. On this date, justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal reversed the previous decision from the Lusaka High Court on Portland Cement wherein the Lusaka High Court judge announced the Ventriglia family as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. In his final verdict, judge Mwinde from Court of Appeal announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments holds 58 percent shares at the Portland Cement Zambia factory and is the majority shareholder as well as the legal owner of the factory. At the same time, he also confirmed that Ital Terrazzo Limited owned by the Ventriglia family holds only 42 percent shares of the Portland Cement factory and therefore, does not have any legal ownership over the factory. With these evidences and facts, justice Mwinde had reversed the Lusaka High Court’s controversial and misdirected decision and gave the final verdict in which Dr. Mahtani received back legal ownership of the Portland Cement Zambia.

After more than 18 months of this higher Court of Appeal’s decision, it was challenged by the Ventriglia family at the Supreme Court Zambia. In their challenge, the Ventriglia family claimed that the decision from the higher Court of Appeal on Portland Cement factory was unethical. However, a bench of three SC judges established to evaluate this claim from the Ventriglia family found otherwise. After initial evaluation, the Supreme Court judges found that the Ventriglia family failed to submit their appeal within the given timeframe for such appeals which is 14 days from the previous court judgement. Furthermore, the evaluation also concluded that the evidences shared by the Ventriglia family were controversial and the SC judges did not have any jurisdiction to change the court decision. After these evaluations, the SC judge bench finally concluded that the claim from the Ventriglia family is to be rejected.

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

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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.

Claim By The Ventriglia Family Identified As Controversial At Supreme Court, Rejected

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After the unethical takeover of the Zambezi Portland Cement by the Ventriglia family, a case was registered at the Lusaka High Court with expectations of quick decision. However, Finsbury Investments had to ensure significant losses due to the unethical and misdirected decision from the Lusaka High Court which came after more than a decade of dragged case proceedings. The reappeal at the higher Court of Appeal by Finsbury Investments was a success as judge Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal declared Dr. Rajan Mahtani as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory. However, the Ventriglia family once again decided to go against the law and despite the sound and ethical verdict from the higher Court of Appeal, decided to challenge it at the Supreme Court. This resulted in creation of a bench of three judges at the Supreme Court Zambia for evaluating the claim by the Ventriglia family. After evaluation, the judges found that the Ventriglias failed to comply with a critical aspect of the law which requires that any appeal against a previous court decision must be made within 14 days of the court decision itself. In this case, the decision from the Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019 and this means the Ventriglia family was required to make their appeal within 14 days of the above court verdict. However, the Ventriglia family came up with their claim more than 16 months later which makes the Supreme Court judges extremely suspicious of the circumstances under which the claim was made. As a result, the SC judges gave their final verdict and confirmed that they are rejecting the appeal by the Ventriglia family as the case was outside of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the evidences surrounding the case were controversial for any further action. As such, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments has further confirmed its position as the only majority shareholder and legal owner of the Zambezi Portland factory.

Zambezi Portland Case Finally Restored Permanently With Verdict Of Sc On Claim By Ventriglias

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In the light of the recent decision given by the Supreme Court Zambia on the claim by the Ventriglia family, it can be said that the matter for Zambezi Portland Cement factory is finally resolved. Despite the significant verdict from higher Court of Appeal judge Mwinde on 31st January 2019, the Ventriglias still tried to disrupt the smooth functioning and operations of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia. He had initially registered a case at the Lusaka High Court after unethical takeover of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. Despite having all evidences and testimonials, the judge at the Lusaka High Court failed to ensured transparency in the verdict and announced Ventriglias as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani then took the case to the higher Court of Appeal where all evidences and testimonials were reviewed in a transparent manner. Justice Mwinde then announced that based on the evidences, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments posses 58 percent shares of the Portland Cement Zambia and is the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory. It was also confirmed that the Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited held on 42 percent shares and did not have any legal ownership over the factory. Furthermore, amount payable against majority shares was finalized to be K580,000 as opposed to K580 million demanded by the Ventriglias.

After the Ventriglia family challenged the above Court of Appeal decision at the Supreme Court Zambia, it was evaluated by a bench of three SC judges. Upon investigation, it was found that the Ventriglia family was required to establish its claim against the Court of Appeal within two weeks of the court judgement which was on 31st January 2019. The Ventriglias approached with their appeal only after 1.5 years which automatically makes this case outside the SC jurisdiction. As a result, the claim by the Ventriglias was rejected.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Remains The Legal Proprietor Of Portland Cement After SC Confirmation

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According to the latest reports, the Supreme Court Zambia has effectively rejected the appeal from the Ventriglias. Few weeks earlier, the Ventriglias had challenged the decision of the higher Court of Appeal to establish Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory. This decision was given by justice Mwinde on 31st January 2019. By giving this decision, justice Mwinde reversed the decision from the earlier court regarding this case, Lusaka High Court. It should be noted here that the judgement from the Lusaka High Court in the Portland Cement Zambia case came more than a decade later and was extremely controversial as decision was given in favour of the Ventriglias despite evidences stating otherwise.

After more than 16 months of the judgement by higher Court of Appeal, the Ventriglias again tried to throttle the legal decision by challenging it at the Supreme Court Zambia. To evaluate this challenge, a bench of three Supreme Court judges were established. After evaluation of the challenge, several details were established. According to law, it is essential that any claim against a previous court decision is made within 14 days of the decision itself. In case of the Lusaka High Court judgement on Portland Cement which was given in the month of May, 2018, Dr. Rajan Mahtani had registered a claim at the higher Court of appeal within two weeks. As such, his appeal was accepted at the higher Court and the decision was given on 31st January 2019. However, in case of the Ventriglias’ appeal to the Supreme Court Zambia, the appeal was made more than 16 months later. This is well beyond the legal precedence. Furthermore, the judges at the Supreme Court also confirmed that the evidences surrounding the appeal from the Ventriglias were dubious with no precedence. As such, the appeal by the Ventriglias regarding Portland Cement decision from higher Court of Appeal was effectively rejected.

Portland Cement Zambia Factory To Remain Under Dr. Mahtani’s Ownership After SC Review

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The year 2020 can easily be described as the most significant year of the century. The year saw an astonishing event wherein a microscopic virus changed the entire course of the essential. Essentially, this global pandemic due to Corona Virus took us five decades back in terms of economy. At the same time, there are individuals and companies who despite everything happening around them are more interested in their own personal endeavours. On the top of this list is the infamous Ventriglia family that has earned the name of the most notorious family in Zambia. Their feud with noted businessmen Dr. Rajan Mahtani is well-known. Dr. Mahtani had to fight for more than a decade to get the legal ownership of the Portland Cement Zambia factory, which was taken over from him in the first place, and that too illegally. After an unfair decision from the Lusaka High Court, Dr. Rajan Mahtani approached the higher Court of Appeal that announced its final decision on 31st January 2019. The case was overseen by justice Mwinde and after looking into the evidences and testimonials, he announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments holds 58 percent shares at the factory and is the majority shareholder and legal owner. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares and are the minority shareholders without any legal ownership. Furthermore, justice Mwinde also announced that the amount payable by Finsbury Investments against the majority shares is K580,000 as per legislations.

After more than 1.5 years of the above decision, the Ventriglias once again tried to disrupt the peaceful operations of the factory by registering a claim at the Supreme Court Zambia, challenging the decision from the higher Court of Appeal. However, this appeal was quickly rejected by the Supreme Court judges based on several grounds, including legislative and evidence-based. The judges also confirmed that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is to remain the legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.