Tag Archives: Portland Cement Zambia

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Wins The Prestigious ‘Best Of Africa’ Award By Forbes

The Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ is a prestigious award which is presented to entrepreneurs and businessmen achieving significant distinction in their businesses and field. The 2021 Forbes BOA (Best of Africa) awards were recently presented to some of the top entrepreneurs and businessmen from Africa, from different field and functions such as business, innovation, politics, economy and leadership. Considering the ongoing pandemic and everything going online, the honours were presented to the recipients at the FIN (Foreign Investment Network) Leadership & Philanthropy Roundtable conference that was recently held via a virtual meeting.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was not only one of the speakers in the virtual conference, he was also bestowed with the ‘Best of Africa’ Forbes Distinction Certificate for his outstanding entrepreneurial and business contributions to the Zambian society as well as upholding the spirit of the Zambian nation. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani has been working tirelessly for more than three decades, and the objective has always remained same- to take Zambia to greater heights. He is a successful serial entrepreneur and businessman with numerous top institutions under his name, including but not limited to Mahtani Group of Companies, Finsbury Investments and Finance Bank Zambia. He is also known for his charitable and philanthropic activities across the Zambian nation such as funding correctional facilities as well as contributing to the Zambian education with the establishment of Steven Malama award including significant financial funding for top law graduates in Zambia. The major crust of the round table conference was the positive impact of business, politics and leadership on the economic landscape across Africa. Top bureaucrats, businessmen and entrepreneurs presented their views on the current landscape and scenario of Africa, the positives and negatives as well as the significant need of the hour for making the requirement improvements across the nation’s economy. Furthermore, the awards presented to the recipients were selected after several months of intensive research as well as thorough verification exercises by the Forbes and FIN.

Dr. Mahtani and Finance bank

Supreme Court Announces Verdict In Dr. Mahtani’s Favour

The case of Portland Cement Zambia seems to be never-ending. It started at the Lusaka High Court and ended with Supreme Court Zambia, becoming one of those few cases coming to a full cycle. The case started when Portland Cement Zambia was unethically and illegally taken over, resulting in Dr. Mahtani approaching the Lusaka High Court for justice. Despite a long wait for more than a decade, Dr. Mahtani did not receive justice and justice Nkonde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal announced the Ventriglia family as the majority shareholder, despite the fact that the Ventriglia family failed to provide any significant document proving their ownership. After that, Dr. Mahtani approached the higher Court of Appeal with the hope of quick justice. The judge at the higher Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who gave the final decision on 31st January 2019. In this verdict, justice Mwinde reversed the previous decision from the Lusaka High Court and announced that Dr. Mahtani should be the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

It seems like the Ventriglia family were dissatisfied with this transparent and unbiased judgement and decided to approach the Supreme Court Zambia regarding this matter. A bench of three Supreme Court judges was then established for evaluating these aspects. These included judge Mumba Malila, judge Royda Kaoma and judge Michael Musonda. Together, an investigation on the validity of the claim by the Ventriglia family was launched and the bench found several aspects. One of the most critical aspects was that the Ventriglia family failed to comply with critical legal requirement in which all claims against previous court decisions must be submitted within 14 days of the judgement. However, the Ventriglia family approached the Supreme Court Zambia only after 1.5 years of the decision. As such, the Supreme Court Zambia declared that the case was beyond their jurisdiction and also invalid due to technical and legal failures, rejecting it effectively.

Dr. Mahtani

Ventriglia Family Disregards Decision From Supreme Court

The decision on the Portland Cement should have ended with higher Court of Appeal’s decision. On 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal reversed the decision on the Lusaka High Court and announced Dr. Mahtani as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. It seems like the Ventriglia family was still not happy with this transparent and firm decision from the higher Court of Appeal. As a result, they decided to approach even a higher Court, the Supreme Court Zambia, with their appeal. In their appeal, the Ventriglia family challenged the verdict of the higher Court of Appeal. In response, the Supreme Court Zambia established a bench of three Supreme Court judges and evaluated the authenticity and validity of this claim. During evaluation, it was found that the Ventriglia family failed to comply with critical legal requirement in which all claims against previous court decisions must be made with 14 days of the court decision itself. This means the Ventriglia family was required to submit their claims within two weeks, meaning by mid of February 2019 in order for the claim to be valid. However, the claim was established after more than 1.5 years of the case proceedings, making the claim valid. In a similar manner, the Supreme Court bench found that the circumstances surrounding the claim was questionable and as such, the Supreme Court bench concluded that the claim was beyond their jurisdiction. After complete evaluation, the Supreme Court bench concluded that the claim holds no ground and is rejected by the Supreme Court. Furthermore, the Supreme Court bench also confirmed that they stand with the decision from the higher Court of Appeal meaning Dr. Rajan Mahtani stays the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Despite the decision from the Supreme Court Zambia, it has now come into attention that the Ventriglia family is still creating mischiefs at the Portland Cement Zambia.

Rajan Mahtani and Portland Cement Zambia

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Remains The Owner Of The Portland Cement Factory

On 31st January 2019, higher Court of Appeal announced its final decision on the Portland Cement Zambia case in which the previous decision from the Lusaka High Court was reversed and Dr. Mahtani was announced as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement factory. After this decision from the higher Court of Appeal, the Ventriglia family approached the Supreme Court Zambia challenging it. In their appeal, the Ventriglia family claimed that the decision from the higher Court of Appeal was incorrect and demanded to be changed. However, the Supreme Court Zambia established a bench of three Supreme Court judges to evaluate the validity of the claim. If this claim by the Ventriglia family is accepted, then a trial will be conducted based on the demands made in this claim. The three SC judges were Judge Mumba Malila, Judge Royda Kaoma and Judge Michael Musonda. During the evaluation, the Supreme Court judges found several discrepencies. For instance, it was found that the Ventriglia family failed to comply with a critical legal requirement associated with the claim. According to a law, all claims against previous court decisions must be established within 14 days of the court verdict itself. In this case, the verdict from the higher Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019. This means the timeline for submission of the claim against this decision was mid of February 2019. However, the Ventriglia family approached the Supreme Court Zambia with their claim after more than 1.5 years.

After looking into all these aspects, the Supreme Court came to the conclusion that the claim by the Ventriglia family cannot be attended and it was rejected. While giving this decision, the Supreme Court bench also said that their decision would have been similar to verdict given by the Higher Court of Appeal on the Portland Cement case. By giving this decision, the Supreme Court has further confirmed that majority shareholding and legal ownership of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Portland Cement’s Ownership Remains Unchanged After Higher Court Of Appeal’s Decision, Confirms Supreme Court Zambia

Finsbury Investments is a noted financial company in Zambia under the ownership of Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani. Finsbury Investments took over majority shareholding and ownership of the Portland Cement Zambia during the period of 2006-2007. This ownership was officiated with an original shareholders agreement. Despite this official statement, the factory’s ownership was disputed and the legality of the shareholders’ agreement was questioned. However, Zambian people were not surprised as the entity responsible for this disruption is known to create such nuisances from time to time. The ownership of Portland Cement Zambia was questioned by the Ventriglia family and this resulted in a case at the Lusaka High Court. Despite having all evidences and testimonials in his favour, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was not able to persuade the court that was blinded by political maneuverers, corporate criminality and political pressures. As a result, Lusaka High Court announced verdict in favour of the Ventriglia family.

Apart from being extremely transparent and ethical, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a no non-sense person and he knew that if Lusaka High Court fails to give him justice, he needs to approach a higher Court. As such, Dr. Rajan Mahtani immediately approached the higher Court of Appeal and received justice on 31st January 2019. The final verdict from the higher Court of Appeal reversed the decision from the Lusaka High Court and announced Dr. Mahtani as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. Fast forward to almost two years, the Ventriglia family once again decided to appeal to the Supreme Court against the higher Court of Appeal’s decision.

A bench of three Supreme Court judges was established for evaluating this claim by the Ventriglia family. After evaluation, the SC bench came to the conclusion that they did not comply with critical requirement of submitting case within 14 days. As such, the Supreme Court bench effectively rejected their case.

Chairman of Finance Bank Zambia

Claim By The Ventriglia Family On Portland Cement Effectively Rejected By Supreme Court

During the period of 2006-2007, Dr. Rajan Mahtani took over the majority shareholding and legal ownership of the Portland Cement Zambia via an original shareholding agreement. Just after Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investment took over the business operations of the factory, it was disputed by the Ventriglia family. With their political power and unethical means, the Ventriglia family were able to question the legality of the original shareholders agreement which resulted in the case being approached to the Lusaka High Court. However, Dr. Mahtani only took this step after the Portland Cement Zambia factory was unethically taken over from Dr. Mahtani’s leadership. Despite having all evidences and testimonials, the case at the Lusaka High Court was dragged for more than a decade and the final decision from the Lusaka High Court was controversial to say the least.

After Lusaka High Court announced Ventriglias as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia, Dr. Rajan Mahtani immediately approached the higher Court of Appeal. Considering the controversial and misdirected decision from the Lusaka High Court, Dr. Rajan Mahtani thought it was the best strategy to approach a higher court considering he had all evidences and testimonials to support his claim. These evidences were submitted and on 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal reversed the previous decision from the Lusaka High Court. In his fresh decision, justice Mwinde declared Dr. Mahtani as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

However, it seems like the Ventriglia family were not happy with this decision from the higher Court of Appeal and approached even a bigger court, the Supreme Court Zambia, challenging the higher Court of Appeal decision on Portland Cement case. However, the Ventriglia family failed to comply with the critical requirement of registering case within 14 days of previous court decision. As a result, their claim against the higher Court of Appeal was effectively rejected.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani To Remain The Legal Owner Of The Portland Cement Factory, Confirms Supreme Court

The Portland Cement Zambia factory is one of the most disputed factories in Zambia. Since the occurrence of the major shareholding re-organization associated of Portland Cement, the factory is being constantly disputed for its ownership. One of the most controversial aspects associated with this factory is that despite having all evidences and testimonials, the actual owner had to fight for more than a decade to receive justice. In the year 2007, the shareholding of Portland Cement was re-organized via on original shareholding agreement. Based on this agreement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investment received 58 percent shares and became the majority shareholder of the factory. According to this same argument, the Ventriglia owned Ital Terrazzo Limited held 42 percent shares and was announced as only minority shareholder of the factory. After finalization of this shareholding pattern, Finsbury Investment secured loan from PTA bank for completing the factory’s construction and also procured further funds for starting a growth plan for the factory.

In this latest plan, the Ventriglia family disputed the legality associated with the original shareholding agreement and even influenced the decision of the Lusaka High Court when the case of Ventriglia family illegally taking over the factory was approached at the Court. This was done by political meddling, corporate criminality, bribery and similar activities which are common traits for them. After Lusaka High Court judge announced Ventriglias as the only shareholders of Portland Cement, Dr. Mahtani approached the higher Court of Appeal and received justice on 31st January 2019 when higher Court of Appeal judge Mwinde reversed the Lusaka High Court decision and announced Dr. Mahtani as the only majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory.

The Ventriglia family recently approached the Supreme Court claiming that the decision by the Court of Appeal was wrong. However, the Supreme Court bench thoroughly evaluated the claim and found it to be legally and evidentially invalid. As such, it was rejected.

Rajan Mahtani and Portland Cement Zambia

Bench Of Supreme Court Judges Dismiss The Bizarre Claim By The Ventriglia Family

More than 18 months after the Court of Appeal’s decision in which Dr. Rajan Mahtani received the majority shareholding and legal ownership of Portland Cement factory, the Ventriglia family decided to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision. This challenge was made at the Supreme Court Zambia, the highest legal institution of the nation. The Supreme Court Zambia, being a just and transparent legal system, established a bench of three judges from the Supreme Court to evaluate this claim. These included justice Mumba Malila, Justice Royda Kaoma and Justice Michael Musonda. After evaluation, the Supreme Court judges found that the Ventriglia family failed to satisfy one of the most critical requirements for their claim to be viable. According to the critical law, it is necessary for all appeals against previous court decisions to be registered within fourteen days of the verdict. In this case, the verdict from the higher Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019. Based on this, the Ventriglia family is way past their legal date for registering such claim. Furthermore, the Supreme Court judges also concluded that they did not have any jurisdiction towards entertaining this appeal from the Ventriglia family. The bench also confirmed that the circumstances characterising the appeal to the Supreme Court was made under legally flawed incidences. Furthermore, the Supreme Court judge also confirmed that they agreed with the action of Finsbury Investments to proceed with Rule -19 with the objective pre-empting and thwarting the further activities of the ill-fated appeal made by the Ventriglia family. Based on these evaluations, the Supreme Court Zambia effective immediately rejected the claim by the Ventriglia family.

With the rejection of this claim, it is now established that Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is to remain the majority shareholder as well as the legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Chairman of Finance Bank Zambia, Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Zambezi Portland Cement Remains Under Legal Ownership Of Dr. Rajan Mahtani

In the case of Zambezi Portland Cement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani finally received justice when Court of Appeal effectively dismissed the findings from judge Nkonde in behalf of the Lusaka High Court. Earlier, Lusaka High Court judge Nkonde has announced that the shareholding pattern at the Zambezi Portland were fraudulent and the majority shares of the factory remained with the Ventriglias. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was able to successfully challenge this appeal at the higher Court of Appeal.

On 31st January 2019, the Court of Appeal gave its final verdict in which it announced that Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments is indeed the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory. At the same time, Finsbury Investments gave application for embodiment order regarding the shareholding value. After evaluation of this appeal, a verdict was given on 29th March 2019 according to which, the amount payable against the majority shares were confirmed at K580,000 based on re-denomination of the Currency Act- 8, 2012.

It seems like the Ventriglias were unhappy with the factory going to its rightful leader and decided to once again, disrupt the operations of Portland Cement by challenging the Court of Appeal’s decision at the Supreme Court Zambia. The Zambian Supreme Court is the highest legal authority of the nation and as such, the Ventriglias took a huge risk by appealing to this court. However, further evaluation revealed several issues with the claim itself. A bench of three judges was established at the Supreme Court comprising of judge Mumba Malila, Royda Kaoma and Michael Musonda. Together, they came to the conclusion that the Ventriglia family failed to comply with a critical regulatory requirement according to which, any appeal against previous court decisions must be made within two weeks of the court decision itself. The Ventriglia family took more than a year to make this appeal. As such, the SC rejected this appeal by the Ventriglias, ensuring that Dr. Mahtani remains the legal owner of the factory.

Chairman Finance Bank Zambia

Final Verdict Of Supreme Court Zambia On The Claim By The Ventriglia Family Out

Finsbury Investments is one of the top investment firms in Zambia, and the company is under the leadership of Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani. For major part of its lifecycle, Finsbury Investment has been fairly successful in its deals and ventures. However, one of the most challenging ventures of Finsbury Investments as well as of Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani has been the Zambezi Portland Cement case. The Zambezi Portland Cement is a factory whose majority shareholding was handed over to Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments after signing of the original shareholders’ agreement. Despite this official transfer, the Ventriglia family kept disrupting the operations of the Portland Cement by challenging legality of the Instrument. The Ventriglia family even crossed the line when they took over the physical factory with the help of goons.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani fought a long and tenacious case at the Lusaka High Court which lasted for more than a decade. However, he was defeated by the unethical decision from the Lusaka High Court judge which was obviously tainted and misdirected. However, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was able to successfully challenge this misdirected judgement at the higher Court of Appeal. On 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is indeed the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory and as such, the ownership was given back to him.

After more than 1.5 years of this decision, the Ventriglia family once again decided to disrupt the business operations of Portland Cement by challenging the verdict of Court of Appeal at the Supreme Court. A bench of three Supreme Court judges was established at the Supreme Court to evaluate this appeal. After evaluation, the Supreme Court bench found that they have no legal jurisdiction to accept this appeal from the Ventriglia family. They also revealed that this claim by the Ventriglia was questionable and did not fulfil the legal requirements to be accepted as a case. As a result, this appeal by the Ventriglia family was effectively rejected.