After Patiently Waiting For Ten Years, Dr. Rajan Mahtani Finally Receives Legal Ownership Of Zambezi Portland

Zambezi Portland Cement has been in news for the past one decade. It is a noted cement-manufacturing factory which was being contested by two biggest business houses in Zambia. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is noted businessman and philanthropist with numerous business ventures in Zambia and other nations such as United Kingdom. After the factory was taken over by the Ventriglias, Dr. Mahtani approached Lusaka High Court by registering a case. The case went for ten years and despite several evidences from Dr. Mahtani’s end, final judgment was given against him claims. As such, another case was launched at the Court of Appeal.

This time, the Court of Appeal provided justice and provided the judgment with transparency and ethical standards. The judgment was given on 31^st January 2019 and as per this judgment, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments is the majority shareholder with 58 percent shares. On the other hand, Ventriglia owned Ital Terrazzo Limited owned 42 percent shares at the factory and are minority shareholders. This means Finsbury Investments is legal owner of the factory. While giving this judgment, Justice Mwinde from Court of Appeal also said that the justice Nkonde from Lusaka High Court was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as majority shareholders.

Furthermore, the judge also shared details regarding the claims made by Finsbury Investments. As per the court compliance, Finsbury Investments paid a sum of K580,000,000 to the court along with interest in compliance of the commercial registry. This payment was confirmed by the court. Also, Finsbury Investments also claimed a sum of K1 billion against payment made for gaining entire share capital of Zambezi Portland Cement. This claim was further substantiated with the agreements established in 2005 and 2007. Further details on the claim will be shared soon.

The Court of Appeal has also given a timeline of three months from the judgment date during which both parties are required to complete the process of sales regularization.