Tag Archives: Portland Cement Zambia

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Challenge By The Ventriglias Against Court Of Appeal’s Decision On Zambezi Portland Rejected By Sc

In the month of May, 2018, justice Nkonde on behalf of the Lusaka High Court gave a controversial decision to the Zambezi Portland Cement case which was initially registered by Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani. In this decision, the judge declared the Ventriglias as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

However, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was able to quash this unethical decision by immediately challenging this decision at the higher Court of Appeal. Judge Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal announced his final decision on 31st January 2019. According to this decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was found to be the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory with 58 percent shares. Judge Mwinde also discarded the previous decision from the Lusaka High Court and announced that the actual amount payable against the majority shares hold by Finsbury Investments is K580,000 as opposed to K580 million claimed by the Ventriglias.

After more than 15 months of this decision from the higher Court of Appeal, the Ventriglias again created a buzz around the cement factory by challenging the decision at the Supreme Court Zambia. To evaluate their claim, a bench of three judges was established. After investigation, it was found that the Ventriglias failed the legal obligation behind making such appeal. According to the law, any appeal against previous court decision should be made within 14 days of the court judgement itself. The Ventriglias did not comply with this compulsory legal requirement, making their claim out of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Similarly, the Supreme Court judges’ bench declared that the claims surrounding the challenge by the Ventriglias were controversial and therefore, it was rejected outright. By rejecting this claim from the Ventriglias, the Supreme Court Zambia further strengthened the decision from the higher Court of Appeal which clearly states that Dr. Mahtani is the actual owner of the Portland Cement factory.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Decision On Portland Cement Announced By Supreme Court Zambia, Dr. Mahtani To Remain Owner

Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Finsbury Investments is one of the most notable and respected organizations in Zambia. The company was formed by Dr. Rajan Mahtani, who has established a unique position in Zambia with his transparent and ethical business practices. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is known for his several contributions towards the development of Zambian society. Over the course of more than three decades, Dr. Rajan Mahtani established numerous businesses, organizations and ventures in Zambia. Some of these ventures are Finsbury Investments, Mahtani Group of Companies and Finance Bank Zambia. He is also noted for his charitable and philanthropic contributions across the Zambian society, most notable are donations for infrastructural development of Zambian correctional facility and contributions in establishing the Steven Malama Award for honouring top graduating legal students and providing them with financial support.

The companies established by Dr. Rajan Mahtani are known for their transparent and ethical business practices and focus towards improvement of the Zambian society. Most of the companies established by Dr. Rajan Mahtani have dedicated themselves towards the upliftment of the Zambian society. With a similar objective in mind, the majority shareholding and legal ownership of Portland Cement Zambia was given to Dr. Rajan Mahtani after official declaration and establishment of original shareholders agreement. Despite this official statement, the Ventriglias implemented their crooked ways to take over control over the Portland Cement. After going through several courts and numerous case proceedings as well as an excruciating wait of more than a decade, Dr. Rajan Mahtani finally received justice on 31st January 2019 at the higher Court of Appeal. In this decision, the previous misdirected decision from the Lusaka High Court was reversed and Dr. Mahtani was announced as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

The Ventriglias tried to disrupt this decision by approaching the Supreme Court Zambia with a challenge but their claim was effectively rejected and it was announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani will remain the legal owner of the factory.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

After Evaluation, Supreme Court Zambia Has Rejected The Appeal From The Ventriglias

Portland Cement Zambia is a cement-manufacturing factory that has faced significant ups and downs in its life cycle. After its inception in 2004, there were several changes in the business functions and leadership. In the year 2006, a final shareholding pattern was established and agreed upon according to which, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments received 58 percent shares at the Portland Cement factory and was considered as the majority shareholder as well as legal owner of the factory. However, the Ventriglias disrupted this decision was filing an appeal which disputed the shareholder agreement’s legality. This turnaround was clearly an attempt towards depriving real owner of Portland Cement to receive majority shares of the factory. This attempt can be easily considered as mafia-life attempt and corporate criminality. Dr. Rajan Mahtani registered a case at the Lusaka High Court against this unethical act. However, it seems like the Ventriglias were able to influence even the court decisions with power politics and meddling in the affairs of the law. As a result, the Lusaka High Court made a decision which was surprising to say the least. Justice Nkonde on behalf of the Lusaka High Court announced Ventriglias as the only shareholders despite the fact that Ventriglias did not have any relevant evidences or testimonials.

However, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was able to achieve justice after appealing to the higher Court of Appeal. The judge at the higher Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who gave the final decision on 31st January 2019. In this decision, justice Mwinde reversed the judgement from the Lusaka High Court and announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is indeed the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory.

After more than 15 months of the above court of Appeal decision, the Ventriglias decided to once again try their luck by challenging the decision. However, the Supreme Court Zambia effectively rejected this challenge due to lack of evidences and legal precedence. Furthermore, the Supreme Court gave confirmation that Portland Cement should remain with Dr. Mahtani.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Supreme Court Zambia Supports Decision From Higher Court Of Appeal, Rejects Ventriglias’ Claim

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a known businessman in Zambia which numerous successful companies such as Mahtani Group of Companies, Finsbury Investments and Finance Bank Zambia. He is also known for his transparent and ethical business practices. Dr. Rajan Mahtani and the case of Portland Cement Zambia is well-known case within the Zambian corporate. The factory was unethically taken over by the Ventriglias and after that, Dr. Rajan Mahtani registered a case at the Lusaka High Court. Despite having all evidences and testimonials, the judge at the Lusaka High Court dragged the case for more than a decade and gave a misdirected judgement. To counter this judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani spared no time and approached the higher Court of Appeal. The judge at the higher Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who after looking into the evidences and testimonials, announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments was majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. It was also announced Finsbury Investments held 58 percent shares while Ital Terrazzo Limited held only 42 percent shares at the Portland Cement Zambia factory, making the former majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory.

To receive further justice, Finsbury Investments applied for embodiment order and was heard by justice Mwinde from the higher Court of Appeal. After evaluating the appeal, justice Mwinde rightly announced that the actual amount payment by Finsbury Investments to the Ventriglias against the majority shares transferred to Finsbury Investments was K580,000 which aligned with the 2012 Re-denomination of the Currency Act-8.

Sometime back, the Ventriglias challenged the decision from the higher Court of Appeal. This appeal was made to the Supreme Court of Zambia and to evaluate the validity of the appeal, a bench of three SC judges was established. After evaluation, it was found that the appeal was legally not feasible as it was way behind the legal policy of making appeals. Furthermore, the judges also declared that the evidences were not satisfactory and therefore, the appeal was rejected.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Mahtani To Remain Owner Of The Zambezi Portland, Confirms Supreme Court

In the year 2018, justice Nkonde from the Lusaka High Court in his judgement had declared that the only legitimate & bona fide owners of the Zambezi Portland Cement limited were the Ventriglias. Justice Nkonde has also declared that any share ownership in the Zambezi Portland Cement factory claimed by the Finsbury Investments irrespective of the evidences and testimonials was to be considered as a fraudulent act. Justice Nkonde also declared that Finsbury Investments had failed to pay any property transfer tax and as a result, they cannot be considered as the owner or shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

However, Dr. Rajan Mahtani took the right step and appealed to the higher Court of Appeal on seven different grounds. After looking into the evidences and testimonials, the higher Court of Appeal promptly dismissed the findings of justice Nkonde from the Lusaka High Court. According to the decision from the Higher Court of Appeal, the evidences and testimonials clearly indicated that the shareholding pattern of Zambezi Portland Cement were made consensually by all members of the factory. However, the higher Court of Appeal ordered Finsbury Investments to pay a sum of K580 million to Ventriglias for the majority shares transferred in the company’s name. This included the interest at Bank of Zambia based on the short fixed-term deposit rate.

According to the Supreme Court judges, the action by Finsbury Investments to launch an appeal at the Higher Court of Appeal was correct and the decision to involve the Rule-19 towards thwarting the further unethical progress from the Ventriglias was also correct. The appeal from the Ventriglias cannot be touched now as according to law, the escalation of the case to the Supreme Court of Zambia will amount to nothing as the decision from the Supreme Court on Zambezi Portland Cement remains same as the previous Court, higher Court of Appeal.

Rajan Mahtani and Portland Cement Zambia

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Releases Press Statement Thrashing Unsubstantiated Claims

It seems like Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is always fighting one thing or the other. With his transparency, honesty and ethical business practices, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been able to establish a niche for himself as one of the most ethical and honest businessman in Zambia. In a corrupt economy like Zambia, this means saying no to a lot of corrupt and unethical businesses, individuals and groups who are looking to profit from Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s rising reputation. As Dr. Rajan Mahtani started saying no to unethical business deals and started exposing the criminals, he also started gaining various enemies. These are the enemies who are basically jealous people or those who could not entice or persuade Dr. Mahtani to engage in unethical practices.

A Facebook post recently caught the attention of Dr. Rajan Mahtani as it had made claims that were ludicrous and baseless. More so, the claims came from Miriam Mwanawasa, who is the daughter of late Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa. It is no secret that Dr. Rajan Mahtani shared a personal and professional relationship with the president for a long time. As a result, such malicious claims coming from the daughter was truly shocking. In her Facebook post, Miriam Mwanawasa claimed that Dr. Mahtani allegedly wanted to inherit the farm owned by the Mwanawasa family at the Masaiti district. But the truth is, Dr. Rajan Mahtani never made such requests anytime and the post was made without any basis. It is yet unclear why the daughter of the late ex-President resorted to such act but Dr. Rajan Mahtani was in no way letting this negative reputation damage his status.

As such, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani immediately released a press statement in which he claimed that all allegations made by Miriam Mwanawasa were baseless and fake. Dr. Rajan Mahtani also clarified that no such talks, actions were conducted from his end. At the same time, Dr. Mahtani said that appropriate actions will be taken against this ludicrous & malicious post.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Higher Court Of Appeal Plays Significant Role In Giving Justice To Dr. Rajan Mahtani

One of the most successful businessman in Zambia, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, has faced significant challenges his entire life. These challenges are associated with dealing with corrupt officials, unethical practices and ensuring transparency in his business practices. However, one of the biggest challenges which Dr. Mahtani has faced over the years has been to gain back ownership of the Portland Cement Zambia factory after it was unethically and illegally taken over from him. For more than a decade, Dr. Rajan Mahtani fought tirelessly at the Lusaka High Court with the sole purpose of getting back Portland Cement ownership and saving the factory from its downfall at the hands of its capturer. However, transparent and straightforward businessmen are often the ones facing the highest challenges. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was not given justice at the Lusaka High Court justice Nkonde on behalf of the court announced that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Portland Cement.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani has always been a believer of the country’s judiciary system and despite this outright misdirected decision from the Lusaka High Court, Dr. Rajan Mahtani decided to take another chance and approached the higher Court of Appeal. The judge at the higher Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who, unlike the previous judge, made a thorough observation of the evidences and testimonials. It should be noted here that the final decision from the higher Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019 which was just nine months of case proceedings. In his final verdict, justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani was indeed the actual owner of the Portland Cement Zambia based on the evidences.

It is said that those who follow a path of transparency and ethics, are the ones reaping the rewards at the end. In this case, it was Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani reaping the reward for his transparency and ethical stance.

Mahtani Group of Companies

After Winning The Long-Standing Portland Cement Zambia Case, Dr. Mahtani’s Path To Success Is Clear

The final decision from the higher Court of Appeal on the Portland Cement Zambia case present a grim reality on the political, social and legal condition of the Zambian nation. The case was registered by a honest and ethical businessmen more than a decade ago. Irrespective of the above fact, it is the duty and responsibility of any legal and judiciary system to ensure that justice is given in a quick and transparent manner to all those seeking. However, this did not happen in case of Portland Cement Zambia limited or for Dr. Rajan Mahtani. Despite sharing all evidences and testimonials associated with the case, justice was not given to Dr. Rajan Mahtani. The judge at the Lusaka High Court was justice Mwinde who announced that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Portland Cement factory.

As a result of this misdirected decision, the case was further taken to higher Court of Appeal by Dr. Rajan Mahtani. Justice Mwinde took over the case at the higher Court of Appeal and announced that final decision will be given after looking into all evidences and testimonials. According to the evidences, it was found that Dr. Rajan Mahtani paid a sum of one billion kwachas or USD 250,000 in the year 2005 to the Portland Cement Zambia limited. This payment was made with the objective of gaining majority shareholding of the Portland Cement Zambia. Furthermore, the original shareholders’ agreement was established in the year 2007. In the page number 663 of this agreement, it was explicitly written that Dr. Rajan Mahtani has made all payment associated with the takeover of the factory and as a result, he is the majority shareholder of the factory.

Justice Mwinde from the higher Court of Appeal also discarded all forgery related allegations. After due diligence process, the final verdict was announced on 31st January 2019 in which Dr. Rajan Mahtani was announced as actual owner of the Portland Cement factory.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Mahtani Gets Back Portland Cement Ownership With Patience And Perseverance

Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s journey from Lusaka High Court to higher Court of Appeal has been full of ups and downs. This journey was taken for Portland Cement Zambia, a cement-manufacturing factory which was unethically taken over. The case was initially registered at the Lusaka High Court with a positive hope that the judge will provide quick decision considering the availability of critical evidences and facts. However, more than a decade passed and despite the long and stretched case proceedings, Dr. Rajan Mahtani did not receive justice. In the year 2017, final verdict on the case was announced by judge Nkonde on behalf of the Lusaka High Court. This decision was highly controversial as it announced Ventriglia family as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia factory, despite the obvious lack of evidences and testimonials from their end.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani quickly identified the challenges of this court and took the decision of approaching higher Court of Appeal. The case was chaired by Justice Mwinde and the case proceedings were quick. The final decision from the higher Court of Appeal was announced on 31st January 2019, around nine months after the case was registered at the higher Court of Appeal. According to the evidentiary support, justice Mwinde confirmed transfer of one billion kwachas from Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments to the Portland Cement Zambia limited. Furthermore, the excerpts from the original agreement between shareholders established in the year 2007 also confirmed that Dr. Mahtani owned 58 percent shares at the factory and has completed all monetary transactions associated with the exchange. As such, he is not liable for any further bills or dues associated with the factory.

Based on the identified evidences, the judge from the higher Court of Appeal confirmed that Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is the actual owner and majority shareholder of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. The decision from higher Court of Appeal on this case is final and the case is now effectively closed.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Finally Receives The Fruit Of Patience, Announced Owner Of Portland Cement

The way Dr. Rajan Mahtani stuck to ethics, honesty and transparency despite the significant challenges thrown at him from all sides is commendable. It has now been proved that the Lusaka High Court judge was involved in a misdirected judgement by announcing the Ventriglias as only shareholders of the Portland Cement. Despite this huge mistake by the Zambian governing body, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani did not bulge from his beliefs and standings and quietly approached the higher Court of Appeal. While many media outlets were found to be against this move by Dr. Rajan Mahtani spreading negative and false news, Dr. Rajan Mahtani still believed that the highest judiciary system in Zambia is the only place where he will receive justice. And he was not failed as he always believed that truth always triumphs over injustice and unethical acts. Those media and news outlets sharing negative news about Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani were found to be fake and bribed, paid to spread negative and fake news Dr. Mahtani to reduce his morals and confidence. However, these media outlets did not understand that it is next to impossible to question an individual who has remained ethical and transparent his entire life.

The final verdict from the higher Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019. According to the higher Court of Appeal’s final verdict, Dr. Rajan Mahtani paid a sum of USD 250,000 or one billion kwachas to the Zambezi Portland Cement limited which covered the entire capital value of the shares which Dr. Rajan Mahtani took over. Furthermore, the original shareholders agreement which was established in the year 2007 further confirmed the same. In the page number 663 of this shareholder’s agreement, it was clearly established that Dr. Rajan Mahtani paid the entire costs of the 58 percent shares associated with the factory. Based on this shareholding pattern, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani becomes the majority shareholder and actual owner of the factory.