Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Claims By Ventriglia Family Regarding Portland Cement Factory Rejected By Supreme Court

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia with several successful companies in his portfolio. He is the owner of Finsbury Investments and Mahtani Group of Companies among others. Despite having a successful business empire, Dr. Rajan Mahtani continues facing challenging when establishing new businesses. One of the examples is the case of Portland Cement Zambia for which, ownership battle went for more than a decade. The higher Court of Appeal reversed the decision from the previous Lusaka High Court and announced Dr. Mahtani as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory.

Despite this transparent decision, the higher Court of Appeal’s decision was once again challenged by the Ventriglia family. An appeal was made at the Supreme Court Zambia and a bench of three SC judges was established for evaluating this claim. After evaluation, the Supreme Court bench gave the verdict that the claim from the Ventriglia did not qualify due to technical and legal aspect. The Ventriglia family was required to submit its appeal against previous court decision within 14 days of the court verdict itself. Since the verdict from the higher Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019, the, Ventriglia family failed to comply with this critical legal requirement and submitted their case only after 1.5 years of the higher Court of Appeal’s decision. Based on this aspect alone, the claim by the Ventriglia family is liable for rejection. Furthermore, the Supreme Court bench also concluded that the circumstances surrounding the claim were questionable and the Ventriglia family was unable to provide any relevant evidences for establishing their ground on the claim. As a result, the Supreme Court bench concluded that they did not have any jurisdiction over the claim by the Ventriglia family which is liable for rejection. Based on these evaluations, the Supreme Court bench concluded that the claim from the Ventriglias related to Portland Cement case should be rejected.

Claim By Ventriglia Family Lacks Authenticity, Rejected By The Supreme Court

Recently, the Supreme Court Zambia gave its final verdict on the bizarre claim against the higher Court of Appeal. This claim was established by the Ventriglia family claiming that the decision by the Higher Court of Appeal was wrong. On 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde on behalf of 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 factory.

The Supreme Court Zambia is the highest legal and judiciary system of Zambia with a penchant for transparency and justice for all. As such, the Supreme Court decided to review this claim by the Ventriglia family despite its bizarreness. A bench of three SC judges was established for evaluating the claim. These included judge Mumba Malila, Judge Michael Musonda and Judge Royda Kaoma. This Supreme Court bench evaluated the case across several levels and found several interesting as well as questionable aspects. For instance, it was found that the Ventriglia family failed to comply with a critical legal requirement in which all cases against previous court decisions must be made within 14 weeks of the verdict itself. Since the decision from the higher Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019, the Ventriglia family were required to submit their case within two weeks of this decision. Instead, the Ventriglia family causally approached the highest legal authority of Zambia without looking into the legal aspects. This further made their claim more suspicious and the Supreme Court bench clarified that the claim by the Ventriglia family was beyond the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court Zambia. Furthermore, the Supreme Court bench also said that the circumstances surrounding the appeal by the Ventriglia was controversial as the Ventriglias did not provide any evidence or testimonials to support its claim against the higher Court of Appeal.
After thorough evaluation, the claim by the Ventriglia family was effectively rejected.

 

Money Laundering

Evaluation From Supreme Court Bench Revealed Lack Of Authenticity In The Claim By The Ventriglias

One of the major reorganizations with respect to the Portland Cement Zambia factory was made between 2006 and early 2007 wherein joint changes were made within the shareholding of the Portland Cement. Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investment received 58 percent shares of the Portland Cement Zambia factory and became the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory. After receiving confirmation of the changed shareholding pattern wherein 58 percent shares were owned by Finsbury Investment and 42 percent shares were owned by Ital Terrazzo Limited, money was disbursed by the PTA bank.

Now that the Portland Cement factory was complete and became a fully-fledged organization, the Ventriglia family decided to play by their own rules. The family started to dispute the legality associated with the original shareholders agreement. This resulted in a case at the Lusaka High Court which went for more than a decade. Despite this long pendency, the Lusaka High Court failed to provide transparent decision and gave a verdict in which the Ventriglia family was announced as only shareholders of the Portland Cement factory without any concrete evidence.

After this misdirected judgement, Dr. Mahtani approached the higher Court of Appeal and received justice on 31st January 2019 when judge Mwinde announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the actual majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement factory. As such, the Court of Appeal effectively reversed the decision from the Lusaka High Court.

After more than 1.5 years of the decision, the Ventriglia once again tried to play their own rules by challenging the decision of Court of Appeal regarding Portland Cement. This claim was taken to the Supreme Court Zambia. However, the Supreme Court bench effectively rejected the claim by deeming it invalid as it did not fulfil the legal requirements. The claim from the Ventriglia family was also considered as controversial and therefore, the Supreme Court bench concluded that it should be rejected.

Zambezi Portland Cement

Decision From Supreme Court Zambia On Appeal By The Ventriglia Out, Case Rejected By SC

The latest decision from the Supreme Court has finally ended the case of Zambezi Portland Cement after more than 12 years. The case can be easily described as one of the longest-pending cases in Zambian legal system and faced several setbacks and challenges due to unethical legal and corporate meddling and practices by parties. While the decision from the Supreme Court Zambia was with respect to the claim established by the Ventriglia family, their decision has invariably ensured the leadership and ownership of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

The case goes more than a decade back when Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani first registered a case at the Lusaka High Court, claiming that his factory, Portland Cement Zambia was illegally taken from him. Despite having all evidences and testimonials, the verdict from the higher Court of Appeal was extremely misdirected as the Ventriglias were announced as only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia. To counter this misdirected decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani took the case to the higher Court of Appeal. Judge Mwinde took over the case and gave his verdict on 31st January 2019. In his verdict, the decision from the Lusaka High Court was reversed and Dr. Rajan Mahtani was announced as majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory.

After more than 1.5 years of this decision, the Ventriglia family decided to claim against the decision of the higher Court of Appeal at the Supreme Court. In their claim, the Ventriglia family challenged the verdict of the higher Court of Appeal by calling it untrue. To evaluate this claim, a bench of three judges was established at the Supreme Court. Upon evaluation, the judges revealed that the Ventriglia family missed the deadline for registering appeal against previous court decision which is 15 days from the decision. As a result, the Supreme Court bench announced that the claim by the Ventriglia family was invalid and was outright rejected. As such, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani remains the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory.

Zambezi Supreme Court Announces Final Decision On The Portland Cement Zambia Case

The case of Portland Cement Zambia started more than a decade ago when Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist, registered a complaint at the Lusaka High Court claiming that his company was unethically and illegally taken away from him. This company was Portland Cement Zambia and to prove his claimed, several evidences were submitted before the court. However, criminalities, corporate muddling and corruption creeping inside the Zambian legal system resulted in dragging of the case for more than a decade. Despite this, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani did not receive justice as justice Nkonde on behalf of the Lusaka High Court announced Ventriglias as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement case.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani immediately challenged the Lusaka High Court decision on Portland Cement at the higher Court of Appeal. On 31st January 2019, the final decision on the Portland Cement Zambia was announced by justice Mwinde. In this judgement, justice Mwinde completely rejected the previous decision from Lusaka High Court and announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is indeed the actual owner and majority shareholder of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. It was a definite victory for Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s patience and perseverance. However, it seems like the Ventriglias started plotting against the factory and the businessmen as soon as the decision from the higher Court of Appeal was announced. However, their planning was actually revealed when the Ventriglias registered a fresh claim at the Supreme Court Zambia challenging the decision from the higher Court of Appeal. This challenge was evaluated by a bench of three judges from the Supreme Court Zambia and it was found that the challenge holds no ground, legally or evidentially.

Therefore, in their final statement, the Supreme Court Zambia upheld the previous decision from the higher Court of Appeal on the Portland Cement Zambia case and rejected the appeal from the Ventriglias.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s win at Court of Appeal

2020 Brings Some Good News For Dr. Rajan Mahtani, Retains Ownership Of Portland Cement

The year 2020 has not been great. Perhaps, it can be said that the year has been the worst in the past 100 years due to the ongoing global pandemic that has not only claimed millions of life but has brought the global economy to a standstill. Almost every nation across this globe has suffered and Zambia could not escape this pandemic. While the blow has not been as severe as some of the more developed nations, it still resulted in significant loss of life and life savings for many. In terms of businesses too, many companies suffered due to economic volatility and loss of international trade. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia with several successful businesses such as Mahtani Group of Companies, Finsbury Investments and Portland Cement Zambia. Even he faced issues due to this global pandemic which resulted in loss of revenues and profitability for his organizations and ventures.

However, one of the positive aspects which happened to Dr. Rajan Mahtani during the later part of the year was a surprise move from his arch enemies the Ventriglias. It is a known fact that Dr. Rajan Mahtani, who now owns the Portland Cement Zambia factory, fought for the legal ownership of the factory for more than a decade. First it was Lusaka High Court given a misdirected decision, then higher Court of Appeal reversing the decision from the higher Court of Appeal and giving majority shareholding and legal ownership to Dr. Rajan Mahtani. After more than a year of the Court of Appeal decision, the Ventriglias approached the Supreme Court with a new claim challenging the Court of Appeal’s decision. However, the Supreme Court Zambia effectively rejected this appeal as according to law any appeal against a previous court decision must be made within 14 days of the judgement. Since the Ventriglias were more than a year late, the Supreme Court Zambia rejected their appeal and announced that the factory belongs to Dr. Rajan Mahtani only.

Dr Rajan Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Mahtani Applauded By Education Fraternity For His Support To Law Field

For Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, the interests of the nation have always been higher compared to his own interests. This is the reason he is known more favourably for his philanthropic and charitable acts despite being a successful businessmen with transparent and ethical standings. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is known to provide financial, legal and professional support to all those fields with a bright future in Zambia. One of these fields is the education sector wherein Dr. Rajan Mahtani has left a mark with his philanthropic act. Dr. Rajan Mahtani established the Steven Malama award in the year 2012 and was inaugurated in the year 2013. This award was established with collaboration among the Zambian education legislation, Finance Bank Zambia where Dr. Rajan Mahtani holds the position of Chairman and the university or college that would institute the award. Late Steven Malama was a close friend of Dr. Rajan Mahtani along with being a business aide. Late Steven Malama is also noted for his significant contributions in the field of law, one of them being persuading the government of Zambia to merge two significant bars- the Solicitor’s Bar and the Registrar Bar into a single bar. With the merger of this bar, legal enthusiasts, law professionals as well as law students will be able to get law affiliations in a much transparent and smooth manner without difficult bureaucratic processes.

For the year 2018-19, the Steven Malama award was received by Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba. This award is given to the top graduating law student from the ZIALE (Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education). To be eligible for this award, the top graduating law student must also pass the bar in his or her first attempt. The award was presented to Emmanuel by Dr. Rajan Mahtani itself during the annual gala function. The award carries a plaque and a prize money worth K15,000 which has been significant in providing financial support to the deserving law graduates in fulfilling their dreams.

Supreme Court Of Zambia Announces Dr. Mahtani As The Penultimate Owner Of Portland Cement

In a surprising turn of events, the Ventriglia family decided to make an appeal to the Supreme Court of Zambia after the higher Court of Appeal dismissed their plea and announced Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is a prominent businessman in Zambia who has been fighting for the legal takeover of the factory for a long time. First it was Lusaka High Court where the case was registered by Dr. Rajan Mahtani claiming that the factory was unethically taken over from him. However, more than a decade of case proceedings as well as several strong evidences did not give any respite to Dr. Rajan Mahtani as the judge at the Lusaka High Court went against the evidences and conferred the Ventriglias as the only owners of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Notwithstanding this unethical decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani rightly approached the higher Court of Appeal. The judge at the higher Court of Appeal was justice Siwvwapa who after looking into the evidences and testimonials, announced Dr. Rajan Mahtani as the majority shareholder of the factory with 58 percent shares. Thus, the Court of Appeal overthrew the judgement from the lower higher Court and gave a transparent decision.

However, the Ventriglias decided to further drag the case by approaching the Supreme Court of Zambia, the highest court in any nation. However, this decision proved to be fatal as the bench established at the Supreme Court comprising of SC judges rejected the appeal on ethical and legal grounds. According to the legal grounds, the Ventriglias must have made the appeal within 14 days after the judgement from the higher Court of Appeal which they did not. As such, their appeal on challenging the higher Court of Appeal becomes invalid. Second, the bench of SC judges confirmed that the appeal had no circumstances or proof to be accepted. As such, Dr. Rajan Mahtani remains the actual owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani Gives Fitting Reply To Unethical And False Rumours In A Social Media Post

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is one of the best businessmen in Zambia. His organizations like Finsbury Investments, Mahtani Group of Companies and Finance Bank Zambia have all arrived at top places in their particular ventures. In any case, there is one region where Dr. Rajan Mahtani has battled constantly. This territory is working with the administration of Zambia. Regardless of Zambia’s ongoing advancement, the nation is defaced with defilement and deceptive practices with pay off and coercion turning into a typical practice even across top government and lawful organizations. This makes it amazingly hard for genuine and ethical businessmen like Dr. Rajan Mahtani to endure and flourish. It tends to be said that Dr. Rajan Mahtani stays one of only a handful businessmen in Zambia who has kept a perfect picture and his strategic approaches are as straightforward as it could be.

At the same time, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is never the one to give-in to unethical practices or false rumours. Recently, a social media post was shared by Miriam Mwanawasa, daughter of the ex-President of Zambia Levy Mwanawasa. It was a Facebook post in which Miriam Mwanawasa claimed that Dr. Rajan Mahtani wanted to inherit the farmland at Masaiti district owned by the Mwanawasa family. This was an extremely controversial claim and Dr. Rajan Mahtani released a press statement to expose this fake claim. In this press release, Dr. Rajan Mahtani clarified that he never made such intentions of taking away the farmland and his friendship with the late Ex-President of Zambia was extremely transparent and ethical. Furthermore, he also highlighted the fact that the Facebook post was devoid of any evidences or testimonials and therefore, was claimed as misdirected, ludicrous and malicious. Dr. Rajan Mahtani further said that he will be taking actions against this unethical post which aimed towards damaging the reputation of Dr. Mahtani.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Mahtani Thankful For The Praise From Later Winner Of Steven Malama Award

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is one of the premier businessmen in Zambia who is noted for his business acumen, entrepreneurial spirit as well as his charitable and philanthropic contributions to the Zambian society and economy. One of these contributions has been the creation of the Steven Malama award in the year 2012, which was established for honouring the great contributions of the late Steven Malama.

The Steven Malama award has practically transformed the legal education system of Zambia. Apart from bringing nation-wide recognition and interest on the field of law, this award system has also improved the value and ranking of the institute. Now, students are found to be more dedicated and motivated to improve their studies for the award. While there have been numerous internal award systems by institutions, universities and colleges, the recognition of Steven Malama award is distinctive, partly due to the achievements by late Steven Malama. As such, the Steven Malama award is considered as one of the top educational awards in Zambia and the credit for this goes to Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani. Dr. Mahtani provided not only administrative and political support for the institution of the award, but also ensured its viability and credibility with the prize money awarded to winning students every year. This prize money is worth K15,000 which is a significant amount for deserving candidates, especially those coming from difficult financial backgrounds. Dr. Rajan Mahtani has never been the one to promote himself with this philanthropic and charitable activities and therefore, most of the students from the institute were unaware of Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s significant contribution in this award system. With this financial contribution, several students across the years have achieved this dreams, be it starting their own practice, getting training from top institutes as well as seed money for becoming entrepreneur. This amount has also helped many students to further their career by joining advanced legal programs and courses.