Tag Archives: Zambezi Portland Cement

Supreme Court’s Announcement Comes After Bizarre Appeal From The Ventriglia Family

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The actual court proceedings for Portland Cement Zambia factory was over on 31st January 2019 when the higher Court of Appeal announced its final verdict on the case. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is one of the most respected and noted businessman in Zambia. He is known for his companies such as Mahtani Group of Companies, Finsbury Investment and Finance Bank Zambia. Dr. Rajan Mahtani also held the ownership for Portland Cement Zambia via his company Finsbury Investments before it was unethically taken over by the Ventriglia family. A case was registered at the Lusaka High Court with the hope of getting quick judgement. However, the Lusaka High Court dragged the case proceedings to more than a decade. Despite this, the final decision coming from the Lusaka High Court was controversial and justice Nkonde announced the Ventriglias as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani, after consulting with his legal team, immediately decided to appeal against this misdirected and controversial decision. The appeal was approached at the higher Court of Appeal and on 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal gave the final verdict on the case. As per the verdict, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investment holds 58 percent Portland Cement shares and is the majority shareholder as well as legal owner of the factory. Based on these evidences, the decision from the Lusaka High Court was effectively reversed.

The Ventriglia family, unhappy with the loss of the cement manufacturing factory from their control, decided to try their luck by approaching the Supreme Court Zambia. In their claim, the decision from the higher Court of Appeal was challenged. The Supreme Court established a bench of three SC judges for evaluating the case. After evaluation, the Supreme Court judge came to the conclusion that the claim from the Ventriglia do not hold any conclusive support and therefore, was effectively rejected.

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.

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.

Shareholding Pattern Of Zambezi Portland Cement Clearly Suggests Dr. Mahtani As Rightful Owner

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The courts and judiciary systems have significant responsibility of ensuring justice with transparent and ethical decision making. However, when corruption and wrongdoing creeps in, it becomes extremely difficult for companies, businesses and entrepreneurs to work freely as a result of significant shortcomings and issues. In such situations, it is essential for the government as well as the legal and regulatory bodies to ensure that faith in the system is restored. However, the same has not been happening for Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani who despite being the most honest and ethical businessman in Zambia is not getting any justice. The case is of Portland Cement Zambia for which Dr. Mahtani has been battling across several courts without any respite. For instance, the Lusaka HC was the first court where the case was registered and despite the numerous evidences and testimonials, controversial verdict was given and justice was denied. It was after this unethical decision that the higher Court of Appeal was approached which sorted things out.

The higher Court of Appeal was chaired by justice Mwinde and he concluded his decision on 31st January 2019 after evaluating all available evidences and testimonials. For instance, it was found that an amount of one billion kwachas was paid to the Zambezi Portland Cement. This amount is equal to USD 250000 and covered the entire value of the share capital which Dr. Rajan Mahtani took over. Furthermore, several other details were shared such as original agreement between shareholders established in the year 2007, financial details, transactional details and contractual details. The judge at the higher Court of Appeal also confirmed that the allegations of signature forgery were fake and invalid as the process involving electronically affixing signatures was common practice at Zambezi Portland Cement.

Based on all these evidences, testimonials and other details, it as been finally confirmed that Dr. Mahtani is the only owner and majority shareholder of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Higher Court Of Appeal Gives Its Final Decision On Zpc On 31st January 2019

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The case of Portland Cement Zambia has taken a significant toll of Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s patience, perseverance and focus for a long time. The journey started when the factory was unethically taken over and a case was registered at the Lusaka High Court. Despite sharing evidences, the Lusaka High Court judge gave a decision which came to be extremely controversial. The Ventriglias, and not Dr. Rajan Mahtani was announced as owner of the factory. After this judgement which was extremely misdirected, Dr. Rajan Mahtani rightly re-registered the case at the higher Court of Appeal. The judge at the higher Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde and after looking into all evidences and testimonials submitted, final decision was given. Justice Mwinde announced Dr. Rajan Mahtani as actual owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. This announcement was made on 31st January 2019 after sharing all details associated with the case.

Justice Mwinde confirmed that the Appellant or Finsbury Investments in this case made a payment of USD 250,000 to the Zambezi Portland Limited factory. This payment was made with the objective of taking over majority shares of the ZPC limited. Furthermore, this amount equalled 1 billion kwacha and this share transfer was clearly established in the original Shareholders Agreement established on 26th February 2007 and was found in the page number 662 of the volume-Record of Appeal in the agreement. This evidence further solidified Dr. Mahtani legal ownership over the factory. Furthermore, justice Mwinde also declared that it was the responsibility of the transferor to pay the PTT (Property Transfer Tax) and thus, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was acquitted from any type of tax payment as he has already completed his responsibilities in terms of payments for the factory. All these details were shared on the same date as the final announcement and it was also confirmed that this decision from the higher Court of Appeal will remain final and binding.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Manages To Gain Back Portland Cement Ownership Through Court Of Appeal

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On 31st January 2019, the Portland Cement Zambia case was finally closed. The case closure was done by justice Mwinde from the Court of Appeal, the second court where the case was heard. It should be noted here that the first court where the case was registered was Lusaka High Court. The case dragged in the court for more than a decade and the final decision was announced by justice Nkonde during the month of May, 2018. However, the final decision was controversial with justice Nkonde announcing Ventriglias as only shareholders. It was after this controversial case judgement which prompted Dr. Rajan Mahtani to take the case up with the higher Court of Appeal.

The higher Court of Appeal gave its final decision on 31st January 2019. This decision was given after all evidences, testimonials and other reports were evaluated thoroughly. One big difference between the two courts is this difference in transparency. While the same evidences, testimonials and other details were provided to the Lusaka High Court justice too, lack of transparency, corruption and unethical practices resulted in the court ignoring these critical evidences and giving an extremely controversial decision panned by the general citizens.

However, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is thankful that he did not suffer the same fate at Court of Appeal too. After evaluation of presented evidences, testimonials as well as all other written and oral representations, the final statement declared Dr. Rajan Mahtani as majority owner of the factory. This statement was made based on the fact that Dr. Mahtani holds ownership of Finsbury Investments which in turn holds majority shareholding of Portland Cement with 58 percent shares.

On the other hand, Ventriglias were found to be just minority shareholders as their entity, Ital Terrazzo Limited was allotted just 42 percent Portland Cement shares during the original agreement. Based on this transparent judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the only legal owner of the factory.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Announced Majority Shareholder And Owner Of Portland Cement Zambia Factory

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For a long time, Dr. Rajan Mahtani fought for transparency, ethics and justice from different courts in Zambia. First it was Lusaka High Court wherein the case was registered by Dr. Rajan Mahtani claiming that his factory was illegally taken over from him. Despite sharing numerous evidences and testimonials, the court took more than a decade to announce the final judgement for the case. After that too, the final judgement from the Lusaka High Court was extremely controversial. The judge at the Lusaka High Court was justice Nkonde according to whom, Ventriglias were announced as only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. To counter this misdirected judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani then approached the Court of Appeal.

On 31st January 2019, the final judgement for the Portland Cement Zambia case was announced at the Court of Appeal. According to this judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the majority shareholder of the Portland Cement Zambia factory as his company; Finsbury Investments holds 58 percent shares. On the other hand, Ventriglias were declared as minority shareholders as their entity, Ital Terrazzo Limited held only 42 percent shares at the factory and were considered as minority shareholders without any legal ownership. With this judgement, justice Mwinde from the Court of Appeal effectively reversed the judgement from the Lusaka High Court which held that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement.

With respect to forgery related allegations, all such allegations were discarded by the judge. It was found that the process of mechanically placing signatures was a common practice at Zambezi Portland Cement. It was also found that critical member of the Ventriglia family, Claudio Ventriglia, engaged in similar practice when conducting business transactions. As a result, all forgery allegations were dismissed by the Court of Appeal judge. Furthermore, all parties were directed by the Court of Appeal judge to complete their share sale and regularization process within three months from the date of the judgement.

Portland Cement Zambia Legal Ownership Goes Back To Dr. Rajan Mahtani, Confirms Court Of Appeal

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The final results for the long-pending Portland Cement Zambia case were announced on 31st January 2019. This announcement came from Court of Appeal, one of the highest legal systems in Zambia. Before Court of Appeal, the case of Portland Cement Zambia was pending at the Lusaka High Court for more than a decade. The case was initially registered by Dr. Rajan Mahtani himself after claiming that the factory was illegally taken over from him. After sharing numerous evidences and testimonials, the judge at the Lusaka High Court shared the final decision. However, this decision was extremely controversial as according to this, Ventriglias were announced as only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement.

To counter this controversial and misdirected decision, Dr. Mahtani then approached the Court of Appeal. The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who gave the final decision on 31st January 2019 during the morning session. Compared to the one decade wait at the Lusaka High Court, this was a speedy decision as justice Mwinde gave the final judgement within nine months of registering the case at the Lusaka High Court. Also, the decision was given only after looking into all evidences and testimonials which were somehow ignored by the previous judge. According to the final decision from the Court of Appeal, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments is majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with 58 percent shares. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares at the factory and is the minority shareholder without any legal ownership over the factory. Based on this decision, it is clear that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the legal owner of the factory. Justice Mwinde, while giving this decision, also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only shareholders as this decision was without any basis and was against the interest of the public policies.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani Is The Legal Owner Of Portland Cement, Final Results From Court Of Appeal

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Dr. Rajan Mahtani is a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia. He is known for numerous successful businesses and ventures in Zambia including Mahtani Group of Companies, Finsbury Investments and Finance Bank Zambia. Another company which is currently under conflict is Portland Cement Zambia. The case of Portland Cement Zambia was established at the Lusaka High Court after Dr. Rajan Mahtani claimed that the factory was illegally taken over from him. The case proceedings went on for more than a decade during which, numerous evidences and testimonials were provided by the lawyers from Dr. Rajan Mahtani. However, the final decision from the Lusaka High Court judge was extremely conflicting. The judge at the Lusaka High Court was justice Nkonde who gave the final judgement that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement.

Portland Cement Zambia

To counter the misdirected judgement from Lusaka High Court, Dr. Raja Mahtani then approached the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal is among the highest court system in Zambia and it was expected that the court will provide the right judgment. And the Court of Appeal did not disappoint. The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who gave the final judgement on 31st January 2019. According to this final judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments is majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with 58 percent shares. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares at the factory and is the minority shareholder without any legal ownership over the factory.

Based on this decision from the Court of Appeal, it is clear that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory. The judge also gave a timeline of three months from the date of the judgement during which all share sales and regulations related activities must be completed.

Ownership Of Portland Cement Zambia Announced With Court Of Appeal Judgement

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On 31st January 2019, the ultimate ownership of Portland Cement Zambia was announced. This announcement came more than a decade after the case was initially registered by Dr. Rajan Mahtani. The case of Portland Cement Zambia is age old and was first launched by Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist. Dr. Mahtani claimed that the factory was illegally taken away from him when registering the case at the Lusaka High Court. To support his claim, numerous evidences and testimonials were submitted before the court. While these evidences and testimonials were sufficient enough to conclude legal ownership of the Portland Cement Zambia factory, the judge at the Lusaka High Court was thinking otherwise. According to the decision from Lusaka High Court judge which came in the month of May 2018, Ventriglias were announced as majority shareholder of the Portland Cement Zambia.

Portland cement zambia

It was clear that this judgement was misdirected and as result, Dr. Rajan Mahtani again registered the case at the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal is among the highest governing bodies in Zambia and announced its final decision on 31st January 2019. This final decision was announced by justice Mwinde. According to this decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments is majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with 58 percent shares. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares and is the minority shareholder without any legal ownership over the factory. While giving this judgement, Justice Mwinde also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as the only shareholders as this decision was misdirected and without any evidence.

As of now, a timeline of three months from the date of the judgement has been provided by the Court of Appeal judge during which all share sales and regulation related activities must be completed.