Portland Cement Zambia is a factory in Zambia which has seen all ups and downs of the Zambian legal system. The factory is contested by two big business parties in Zambia and for the past ten years, was pending at the Lusaka High Court. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is one of the contenders and is among the rare few businessmen in Zambia who is still following a path of transparency and ethics, despite the numerous hardships and challenges of establishing business in a nation full of corruption and unethical practices. The case of Portland Cement Zambia was registered at Lusaka High Court by Dr. Rajan Mahtani himself, who claimed that the factory was illegally and unethically taken away from him. Despite sharing numerous evidences and factual data along with written and oral testimonies; the final judgement from the Lusaka High Court judge was controversial. According to the final judgement, the Ventriglias were considered as only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement.
To counter this judgement and seeking transparent judgement one last time, Dr. Rajan Mahtani then approached to Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal gave its final judgement on 31st January 2019. According to this judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investment holds 58 percent shares at the Zambezi Portland Cement factory and is the majority shareholder of the cement factory. On the other hand, the Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares at the factory and is the minority shareholder with no legal ownership over the factory. Thus, it is proved that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the legal and only real owner of the factory.
During this verdict, the justice Mwinde from the Court of Appeal also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as the only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement as this decision was unethical and without any facts or evidences.