Tag Archives: Portland Cement Zambia

Dr. Rajan Mahtani To Retain Leadership Of Portland Cement, Claim By The Ventriglias Rejected

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Finsbury Investments is one of the many companies owned by Dr. Rajan Mahtani that have made a lasting impression within the Zambian corporate with its transparent and ethical business practices. Zambezi Portland Cement is a Portland concrete assembling production line which was set up in the year 2004 and from that point forward, went through significant changes in its sharing pattern. The major and identified shareholding change was the joint changes made to its shareholding design. Dr. Rajan Mahtani possessed Finsbury Investments was given 58 percent shares of the production line, making him the dominant part investor and legitimate proprietor of the processing plant. Then again, the Ventriglias possessed Ital Terrazzo Limited was given 48 percent shares. The progressions were basic for getting advances from PTA bank just as allotted monetary establishments with the goal that the plant’s development can be finished. After the lawfulness of the shareholding changes were set up with the partners’ register, the PTA delivered cash. In view of these, PACRA rolled out the powerful improvements.

Nonetheless, things took a troublesome turn when the Ventriglias began utilizing their political and lawful campaigning for assuming responsibility for the Zambezi Portland Cement. They had the option to effectively convince the Lusaka High Court judge to give control of the Zambezi Portland Cement to them as it were. Nonetheless, the subsequent claim made to the higher Court of Appeal effectively turned around this exploitative choice from the higher Court of Appeal as justice Mwinde reversed the decision of the Lusaka High Court judge and announced Dr. Mahtani as the legal owner of the factory.

Now the Ventriglias have again tried to disrupt the peaceful operations of Zambezi Portland by registering a claim at the Supreme Court Zambia challenging the decision of the higher Court of Appeal. However, the decision from the Supreme Court was not surprising as the judges rejected this appeal due to lack of legal requirements and lack of evidentiary support.

Higher Court Of Appeal’s Decision On Portland Cement Remains Intact With Supreme Court’s Decision

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Since its establishment, Finsbury Investments has made a name for itself with its strategic business operations as well as ethical and transparent business practices. Dr. Rajan Mahtani holds the position of Executive Chairman at Finsbury and is known for his ethical standings and transparent business operations. In the year 2006, a stakeholder meeting was established and Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments was officially established at the majority shareholder of Portland Cement with 58 percent shares. This very official stakeholders’ agreement also confirmed the shares ownership of Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited which was at 42 percent. This shareholding pattern was agreed upon and accepted by all stakeholders in written consent form. Furthermore, this shareholding change was necessary for Finsbury Investments to be eligible to take loans and financial support from banks and other institutions for completing the construction of the Portland Cement and starting the smooth operations.

However, the illegal and alleged act from the Ventriglias halted everything. After the factory was unethically taken over by the Ventriglias, Dr. Rajan Mahtani fought a legal war for more than a decade at the Lusaka High Court. However, the Lusaka High Court failed to give an authentic and right judgement as political meddling got to the Lusaka HC justice. Within a matter of days, Dr. Rajan Mahtani approached the higher Court of Appeal wherein Justice Mwinde took over the case. After several case proceedings, the final decision from the Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019. In this decision, the judgement from the Lusaka High Court was reversed and Dr. Mahtani was established as legal owner of the Portland Cement factory.

Be that as may, the Ventriglias tried their luck once more by approaching the Supreme Court Zambia. In their appeal, they challenged the decision from the Court of Appeal. However, this appeal was effectively rejected by the Supreme Court due to legal obligations, circumstantial evidences and lack of support from the Supreme Court judges. As of now, Dr. Mahtani remains the actual owner of the Portland Cement factory.

Challenge By Ventriglias Regarding Portland Cement Fails, Supreme Court Rejects Plea

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Finsbury Investments is a noted company in Zambia owned by noted businessman Dr. Rajan Mahtani. The Zambezi Portland Cement factory was founded in the year 2004 and after that it went a series of changes, primarily in the area of shareholding patterns. In the year 2007, a final shareholding pattern was established according to which, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments holds 58 percent shares of the Portland Cement Zambia and is the majority shareholder of the Portland Cement Zambia. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares at the factory and were identified as minority shareholders without any legal ownership over the factory. These changes were essential for the cement-manufacturing factory to obtain critical loans and further complete the manufacturing plant’s completion. Based on this shareholding pattern, Portland Cement Zambia was able to achieve required loans for its business operations.

However, the summer days for the Portland Cement Zambia was apparently short as the Ventriglias wanted to have the money and take

over the factory too. With political manuevers and unethical powers, they were able to take over control of the factory. When Dr. Rajan Mahtani registered a case at the Lusaka High Court, the Ventriglias again manipulated the results and the Lusaka High Court judge gave the judgement in favour of the Ventriglias. However, Dr. Rajan Mahtani challenged this decision at the higher Court of Appeal and was able to get justice based on real evidences and testimonials. On 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments was the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory with 58 percent shares at the factory.

The Ventriglias have now approached the Supreme Court of Zambia with an appeal that the decision from Court of Appeal is unbiased. However, after evaluation, a bench of Supreme Court judges have effectively rejected the case based on legal and ethical obligations.

Challenge By Ventriglias Regarding Portland Cement Fails, Supreme Court Rejects Plea

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Zambezi Portland Cement is a factory in Zambia which has been contested for many decades now. According to the latest decision from the Higher Court of Appeal judge, the factory legally belongs to Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani.

Few months after this decision from the higher Court of Appeal, the Ventriglias family decided to challenge this decision by taking the case to the Supreme Court of Zambia. In their appeal, Antonio and Manuela Ventriglia cited that the judgement by justice Siavwapa from the higher Court of Appeal was incorrect. In the previous decision from the higher Court of Appeal, it was announced that the Finsbury Investments owned by Dr. Rajan Mahtani holds 58 percent shares of the Zambezi Portland Cement and the Ventriglias’ owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds 42 percent shares at the factory. Based on this shareholding pattern, it is established that Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is the actual owner of the factory. At the same time, the final amount payable to the Ventriglias for the majority shares owned by Finsbury Investments was K580,000. The Ventriglias, in their challenge at the Supreme Court, said that correct payable amount was K580 million.

As of now, a bench comprising of three Supreme Court judges have rejected the appeal from Ventriglias for challenging the decision from the higher Court of Appeal. The bench of judges said that they did not have any jurisdiction on this case and the circumstances associated with the appeal from the Ventriglias were flawed. Furthermore, it was also found that the Ventriglias did not comply with legal regulations when making the appeal. According to law, one has to launch their appeal against any court decision within 14 days of the judgement itself. The final decision from the higher Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019 and the Ventriglias made this appeal more than a year later. As such, their appeal is legally not valid and the judgement from the higher Court of Appeal is binding for the case.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani Owned Finsbury Investments Files Complaint Against Major Bank In Zambia

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For a straightforward, transparent and ethical businessman like Dr. Rajan Mahtani, challenges and roadblocks have been many. Working in a developing nation such as Zambia is not easy as the legal and regulatory system is marred with corruption and unethical practices. For many years, Dr. Rajan Mahtani fought for the legal takeover of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. This factory was unethically taken over from him and despite sharing numerous evidences and testimonials at the Lusaka High Court, justice was not received. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was finally given justice at the higher Court of Appeal wherein the judge confirmed that Dr. Mahtani is the majority shareholder and therefore, the legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Finsbury Investments is a company owned by Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani. The company recently sued a major Zambian bank, ESATD (Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development) bank. In their statement, Finsbury Investments stated that the bank engaged in a conspiracy resulting in financial as well as reputational damages for Finsbury. In their complaint, Finsbury Investments claimed that their shares of Radisson Blue were wrongfully interfered. Furthermore, Dr. Rajan Mahtani claimed that the bank, in an unlawful manner and without notifying Finsbury Investments, allowed Ody’s Works’ Limited to alter shareholding for Radisson Blue. All these activities were conducted unethically and without proper applications as well as without informing principle shareholders. The bank also released a letter which said that Finsbury Investments is aligned with the changes made by the bank with respect to the hotel’s shareholding. It was clear that this letter was dispersed without the knowledge of Finsbury Investments.

As a result of this shareholder dilution, Finsbury Investments has suffered significant financial and reputational losses. The losses in terms of shareholder dividends were more than USD 30 million and as a result of that, several ongoing and expected projects from Finsbury Investments were halted. Some of these projects were housing and real estate project, retail banking projects.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani Thrashes Unethical Claims Shared On Social Media

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Dr. Mahtani’s business and corporate life has been full of ups and downs. One of the major reasons behind this is Dr. Mahtani’s strict adherence to transparent, honest and ethical business practices. In a nation full of corrupt politicians, legal authorities and businesses, Dr. Mahtani has made a unique name for himself with his transparent business practices. Despite having friendly network with big names in the Zambian political and economic sphere, there has not been even a single evidence of political or business lobbying or unethical favours from Dr. Mahtani or any of his businesses. This transparent and ethical nature of Dr. Mahtani can be easily seen from the fact that he had to fight across two different courts for more than a decade in the Portland Cement Zambia case for getting justice.

Business success provides individuals with the opportunity of networking with powerful people as well as individuals and houses with big names. In his successful business journey, Dr. Mahtani made a positive impression on numerous political figures of Zambia and even had a positive working relationship with the previous president of Zambia, Levy Mwanawasa. Even after the sad demise of the Zambia’s former president, Dr. Mahtani has always remained friendly and supportive of the family. However, a new story started to make round in social media during the mid-2019.

Miriam, daughter of late president of Zambia Levy Mwanawasa, recently made a claim that Dr. Rajan Mahtani wanted to inherit her farm situated at the Masaiti District at Copperbelt Province. While this claim seems outrageous, immediate attention was given to the fact that the claim was made on a social media platform, Facebook. On top of that, there were no evidence or attachments to support her claim. This quickly suggested that the claim made was invalid. However, outrageous claims like these certainly image the image of notable businessmen in a negative manner and as a result, Dr. Mahtani has made it clear that he will take appropriate actions against this unethical behaviour.

Long-Pending Case Of Portland Cement Closed After A Decade, Dr. Rajan Mahtani Wins Case

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On 31st January 2019, the final results for the Portland Cement Zambia case were announced. The results came from the higher Court of Appeal which is one of the highest legal and judiciary systems in Zambia. The judge at the higher Court of Appeal, justice Mwinde, announced the final verdict after looking into the evidences and testimonials. The first major evidence was the transfer of one billion kwachas from Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments to Portland Cement Zambia limited. This payment was made for covering the entire share capital which Dr. Rajan Mahtani took over of the Portland Cement Zambia limited. Furthermore, the original shareholders’ agreement established in the year 2007 was another major evidence which confirmed Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s claims. On the page number 663 of the original shareholders’ agreement, it was clearly established that Dr. Mahtani took over 58 percent shares of the factory after making the said payment. The agreement between shareholders confirms that this shareholding pattern was accepted and signed by all important shareholders associated with the factory.

Furthermore, all forgery related allegations were discarded by the higher Court of Appeal judge. It was found that the process of electronic placement of signatures was common practice at the Portland Cement Zambia and even critical member of the Ventriglia family, Claudio Ventriglia, engaged in similar practice. As such, all forgery related allegations were discarded by the judge. At the same time, justice Mwinde also confirmed that Dr. Mahtani is not liable for any further payments associated with the case. Any further payments such as PTT (property Transfer Tax) are liability of the transferor which is in this case, Portland Cement Zambia limited itself.

Now that the ownership of Portland Cement Zambia goes back to Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, he has a much difficult task at hand. This task is to revive the factory to its former glory, which it was before the unethical takeover.

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

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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.

Judge Mwinde On Behalf Of Higher Court Of Appeal Announced Portland Cement Case Results

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Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani will forever remember the case of Portland Cement Zambia. It not only tested real patience from one of the most honest and transparent businessman in Zambia, but also exposed the real truth of Zambia’s legal system. Despite being on the ethical side, Dr. Rajan Mahtani faced several roadblocks and challenges to final victory. The most shocking aspect of this case is that the controversy came straight from the judicial system of Zambia. This one is related to the Portland Cement Zambia case, a case which spanned over a decade and two different judicial systems of Zambia. First it was the local high court, Lusaka HC where the case was initially registered by Dr. Rajan Mahtani. With high hopes, expectations included a speedy case proceeding and sharing of verdict based on available evidences and testimonials. However, the case took a surprise turn when case proceedings were dragged for a decade without giving any affirmative verdict.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani, who is known for his strong will and perseverance in the face of struggle, did not gave up on his fight and re-appealed. This time, the appeal was made at the higher judiciary system of Zambia, higher Court of Appeal. The judge at the higher Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde and after evaluating the submitted evidences, final decision was given on 31st January 2019. According to this decision, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani had always made a payment of one billion kwachas via his company Finsbury Investments for covering the entire share capital value of Portland Cement Zambia factory. Furthermore, details from the original Shareholders’ Agreement also confirmed that Dr. Rajan Mahtani took over 58 percent shares of the factory with this amount. Based on the evidences, it is now cleared that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is indeed the actual owner and majority shareholder of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

This decision from the higher Court of Appeal has been declared as final and finding.

Dr. Mahtani’s Next Challenge After Winning Portland Cement Case Is To Revive The Factory

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The path to winning the Portland Cement Zambia case was not easy. Dr. Rajan Mahtani worked for more than a decade for achieving the rightful ownership of the cement factory. Despite several attempts to get back ownership of the factory, Dr. Mahtani never received justice majorly due to the shortcomings and challenges of the Zambian legal and judiciary system. For instance, Dr. Rajan Mahtani possessed all evidences, facts and testimonials to prove his point and despite this, the judge at the Lusaka High Court failed to provide the right judgement for the businessman. The decision went for the Ventriglias and was totally controversial.

Not getting down by these controversial decisions, Dr. Rajan Mahtani rightly approached the higher Court of Appeal. The judgement at Court of Appeal was swift and transparent and was given after looking into all evidences and testimonials submitted. For instance, it was found that Dr. Mahtani paid one billion kwachas for getting majority shareholding by owning 58 percent Portland Cement shares. Furthermore, the evidences also confirmed that this shareholding pattern was accepted by all shareholders of the factory and it was also confirmed that Dr. Rajan Mahtani did not own any further payments associated with the factory. Based on all these evidences, it is now confirmed that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the actual owner of the factory.

Several other details were shared by the higher Court of Appeal judge which further exposed the wrongdoings of the previous judge and the inability of the Zambian justice system which is responsible for the challenges faced by honest and ethical businessmen like Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani. It was found that the process of electronically affixing signatures for business transactions was a common practice at the Zambezi Portland Cement. Being an acceptable practice, it was also found that Claudio Ventriglia, a critical member of the Ventriglias family, engaged in similar practice. As such, all forgery related allegations were found to be baseless and were discarded by the judge.