Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Forbes ‘Best Of Africa’ Award Presented To Dr. Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is among the most respected and renowned businessmen in Zambia. For almost four decades, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani has been working towards the growth and development of the Zambian nation. This growth and development can be seen across several industries, sectors as well as fields. It can be said that Dr. Mahtani has made significant business and philanthropic contributions across all major industries and sectors where he has excelled. Therefore, it was no surprise when Forbes Africa presented Dr. Mahtani with one of the most prestigious business awards in Zambia. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani recently attended the Forbes-FIN philanthropy and leadership business conference. It was an online event owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The event saw participation from several industrialists, media partners, political leaders, spiritual leaders, opinion leaders, entrepreneurs as well as international investors. Foreign Investment Limited is known for establishing several events across the years and the FIN philanthropy and leadership business conference is one of them. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was also invited to this event as an honorary speaker and spoke about the significance of leadership in healthcare.

Similarly, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was also a part of the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards ceremony. Forbes recognized the significant contributions of Dr. Rajan Mahtani and presented him with the Forbes ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year’ 2021. Dr. Rajan Mahtani received this award for his significant contributions to the banking industry of Zambia. Dr. Mahtani is the owner of top business entities in Zambia, including Finsbury Investments and Mahtani Group. His company Mahtani Group transformed into a conglomerate and improved the standards of several industries including banking, insurance, real estate, energy, agriculture, mining, and several others. The company is known for providing significant employment and livelihood opportunities. Similarly, Dr. Mahtani was also recognized for his philanthropic contributions. He is known for numerous philanthropic achievements such as Prison Fellowship Zambia and Stephen Malama award and scholarship for top law graduates in Zambia.

Kenneth Kaunda

Dr. Mahtani In His Eulogy Urged Zambians To Follow The Path Of Righteousness

Entire Zambia is reeling with the loss of its first ever president, Kenneth Kaunda. Dr Rajan Mahtani is a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia with more than three decades of business experience. He is also known to Zambians as a notable philanthropist and charity worker. Dr. Mahtani and Dr. Kenneth Kaunda shared a deep bond with involves their similar philosophical views. Dr. Mahtani’s father, late Lekhraj Mahtani, was instrumental in helping Dr. Kaunda in his fight for Zambian independence. Late Lekhraj Mahtani was a councillor based out of Ndola area and provided significant support and collaboration which helped Dr. Kaunda in achieving his vision.

These qualities can be seen in Dr. Mahtani too who has taken the traits of his esteemed father as well as the ‘Father of the Zambian Nation’ Despite facing several allegations and baseless rumours, Kenneth Kaunda was able to work with integrity and honesty all his life. He was also known to be a lively person who enjoyed his life to the fullest. In a similar manner, Dr. Mahtani continued to work towards the betterment of the Zambian nation despite the various rumours and unethical claims against him. Dr. Mahtani and Dr. Kaunda share a special bond as Dr. Mahtani’s father, late Lekhraj Mahtani provided significant support and collaboration to Dr. Kaunda which helped him in his goal of uniting the Zambian nation. Kenneth Kaunda is credited for uniting more than 73 tribes across Zambia which resulted in Zambia being recognised as a nation in the world map. During his tenure as the President, Kenneth Kaunda worked towards improving the lives of the common citizens and work towards developing the nation’s infrastructure, political alliances and economy prosperity.

It is now time to take this legacy forward by dedicating towards the nation in the same zeal and passion. Businessmen like Dr. Mahtani are already working towards the Zambian nation and others should follow suit.

Dr Rajan Mahtani

Announcement By Supreme Court Comes Shortly After Claim Made By The Ventriglia Family

The Supreme Court Zambia recently made its final say on the surprising claim made by the Ventriglia family. This claim was pertaining to Portland Cement Zambia, a cement-manufacturing factory whose ownership is disputed for a long time. Even though the ownership pattern was finalised more than a decade ago, it was continuously being disputed for ownership. As a result of this dispute, Portland Cement Zambia factory suffered significant challenges and loss of investment as well as financing opportunities. Dr. Rajan Mahtani approached the Lusaka High Court for quick decision but the decision that came a decade later was misdirected to say the least. In the month of May, 2018, justice Nkonde announced that the Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani was able to successfully challenge this decision at the higher Court of Appeal. On 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal reversed the previous decision from the Lusaka High Court and announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani indeed is the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. After this decision, the Ventriglia family once again challenged the decision from the higher Court of Appeal by taking it to the Supreme Court Zambia. A bench of three Supreme Court judges was established for evaluating this claim. These included judge Royda Kaoma, Judge Michael Musonda and Judge Mumba Malila. The Supreme Court bench revealed that the Ventriglia family failed to comply with a critical legal requirement according to which all claims against previous court cases must be submitted without 14 days of the court decision itself. However, the claim by the Ventriglia family came only after 1.5 years of the decision. As such, the Supreme Court bench concluded that the claim by the Ventriglia family was beyond the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court Zambia and therefore, was effectively rejected by the SC.

Supreme Court Bench Effectively Rejects Claim From The Ventriglia Regarding Portland Cement

Portland Cement Zambia was given to Finsbury Investments via an official shareholding change in the year 2007 with the objective of creating a growth trajectory for the cement-manufacturing factory and achieving it. However, this growth trajectory for Zambezi Portland Cement halted when the Ventriglia family started questioning the legality of the shareholders’ agreement which established Finsbury Investments at the owner of Portland Cement. After the factory was unethically captured by goons, a complaint was registered at the Lusaka High Court by Dr. Rajan Mahtani with the objective of getting back the ownership of Portland Cement. However, the same did not happen as the Ventriglia family allegedly influenced the decision of the Lusaka High Court with political meddling, corporate criminality and unethical power politics. This resulted in the Lusaka High Court judge announcing Ventriglia family as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement despite evidences stating otherwise. This decision was overturned by the higher Court of Appeal on 31st January 2019.

After more than 1.5 years of this definite verdict, the Ventriglia family appealed the Supreme Court Zambia out of the blue, appealing against the decision from higher Court of Appeal made on 31st January 2019. The Supreme Court Zambia is the highest legal system in any nation and it is the responsibility of the Supreme Court to evaluate each of the appeals so that justice is provided to all those claims that are relevant and could not be solved at lower-level courts. However, in this case, the Supreme Court Zambia itself questioned the claim from the Ventriglia family as the verdict from the higher Court of Appeal on Portland Cement was definitive. Nevertheless, a bench comprising of three judges was established and the Supreme Court judges came to the conclusion that the claim by the Ventriglia family does not qualify as it is not shared within 14 days of the previous court decision. As such, their appeal was effectively rejected by the Supreme Court.

Zambezi Portland Cement

Portland Cement Zambia Case Finally Over As Supreme Court Favours Decision From Court Of Appeal

Despite the several challenges and issues faced by Dr. Rajan Mahtani, he has not left his path of transparency, honesty and ethics. This can be easily seen in the long wait of more than ten years at the Lusaka High Court for the legal holding of the Zambezi Portland Cement. After that, Dr. Rajan Mahtani moved to the higher Court of Appeal and finally got justice. Finsbury Investments is an organization under Dr. Rajan Mahtani which became the majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory after collaborative agreement among the shareholders. However, the Ventriglias started an internal feud by questioning the instruments used for establishing the original shareholders’ agreement. With unethical political power, they were able to exert their personal interests on the decision by the Lusaka High Court which resulted in a controversial decision of the Ventriglias becoming only shareholders of the Portland Cement.

After this, higher Court of Appeal was approached by Dr. Rajan Mahtani which was a successful attempt as on 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal effectively reversed the decision from the Lusaka High Court and announced Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments as the majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with 58 percent shares. It was also announced that the Ventriglias’ owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares at the factory and are minority shareholders without any legal ownership over the factory. Furthermore, justice Mwinde also confirmed that the amount payable to the Ventriglias as per legal obligations is K580,000.

The Ventriglias have since tried to take over the factory and in a last-ditch attempt, challenged the Supreme Court of Zambia that the decision made by the higher Court of Appeal was unethical. However, a bench comprising of three Supreme Court judges have since rejected this challenge based on several grounds such as time limit for registering an appeal which already passed. The judges further rejected this proposal based on grounds that the evidence were not enough to accept the claim.

Portland Cement Zambia Case Closed After A Gap Of More Than Ten Years

Dr Rajan Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani has been working on the case of Portland Cement Zambia for a long time. It can be easily said that Portland Cement Zambia case has taken a entirety of generation for Dr. Mahtani. Initially registered in 2008, the case stretched for almost ten years. It is worth mentioning here that before this illegal takeover and the case proceedings, the cement factory was one of the biggest producers of cement in the region. It was under the leadership of Dr. Rajan Mahtani who ensured that the factory reaches great heights. The cement-manufacturing factory was known for above-industry production of high-quality Portland cement. It was also known for its above-industry standard wages and renumerations. The cement factory was known to hire employees and workers from far-away places. However, things change dramatically after the legal battle for the cement factory started.

After around nine months of the court proceedings at the Court of Appeal, final decision came. It was given on 31st January 2019 and was announced by justice Mwinde on behalf of the Court of Appeal. According to the final statement, Finsbury Investments was approved of majority shareholding with 58 percent Zambezi Portland shares. Finsbury Investments is a noted company under the leadership and legal ownership of Portland Cement Zambia. On the other hand, the judge conferred Ital Terrazzo Limited with just 42 percent Portland Cement shares. Ital Terrazzo Limited is a company owned by the Ventriglias. Based on this statement on shareholding pattern, it is clear that Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is the only owner of the factory.

While making this announcement, justice Mwinde from the Court of Appeal also cleared some other allegations related to the case. Forgery related allegations were closed as it was announced that placing digitalised signatures was common practice at Zambezi Portland Cement and thus nobody can be charged for this.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s name cleared by Justice Mumba Malila in his sensational testimony

With the latest testimony from the Judge of the Supreme Court Zambia, a lot of questions arise for the law, governance as well as the justice system of Zambia. It is true that Zambia is a developing nation and has been facing serious challenges due to the widespread corruption and unethical practices. However, the recent testimony from Justice Mumba Malila revealed that this corruption and unethical practices have entered even the justice and governance system within Zambia. This is a real low point for the legal system of Zambia and the dangerous situation for the safety and welfare of the common citizens.

While the characteristics of jealously and wrongdoings are common for unethical and corrupt individuals, the major problem arises when these become so powerful they are able to influence even the government and the legal system. The same issue occurred in case of the 2012 case which one of the major highlights of the testimony was given by Justice Mumba Malila, a judge from the Supreme Court of Zambia. Justice Mumba Malila was the attorney general during that time and made several requests to the Tribunal who were handling the case during that time. The requests were made to make the case ‘null and void’ as it was against public policies. Despite several requests, no such changes were made. In his testimony, Justice Mumba Malila has clearly stated that this was due to the external influence of the politically powerful yet corrupt individuals and groups who were influencing the decision making. According to his testimony, the entire justice system of Zambia is now in question due to the unethical political aspirations and corrupt practices of few individuals and groups within the Zambian nation.

With the advent of the testimony, several corrupt politicians and businessmen have gone underground. It is expected that the legal system of Zambia will now take stringent actions against these corrupt practices and make some drastic changes for the betterment of the nation.

After The Success Of The African Summit 2017, Chief Press Secretary Praises Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a prominent industrialist in Zambia with various effective organizations under his name. A portion of the best organizations in Zambia including Mahtani Group of Companies and Finsbury Investments have been begun and kept running under his authority. He is a standout amongst the best and in addition praised over Zambia with various business foundations outside Zambia.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani is additionally noted for his magnanimous practices. He is continually observed including in philanthropy works for NGOs and different associations. Be that as it may, he infrequently announces his philanthropy works or charitable exercises. This is the reason the vast majority of the members and media was uninformed of his immense money related commitments to the African Summit 2017. It is a financial summit which is being held each year in Zambia. The Summit gives a stage to known identities and specialists from various fields to consolidate and talk about the consuming issues related with the country. The African Summit is one of the greatest summits held in Zambia and is likewise a critical stage for systems administration and business. The Chief Press Secretary of the Summit shared a Press Release soon after the effective culmination of the summit. In his letter, the Chief Secretary commended Dr. Rajan Mahtani for his huge financial contribution and related commitments that brought about the achievement of the summit. In contrast to other agents and organizations, Dr. Rajan Mahtani did not want to advance his beneficent demonstration and all things considered, it was amazement for most. Aside from that, the Press Secretary additionally lauded Dr. Rajan Mahtani for his grounded nature and noteworthy support in the occasion; incorporating helping youthful business visionaries with his business information and also taking an interest energetically in various discussions, classes and different exercises.

Dr. Mahtani contribution in African Summit 2017

Despite the current unethical defamations and continuous attacks from scrupulous agents, Dr. Rajan Mahtani continued to work for the betterment of the Zambian society.

Malicious, False, Libellous And Defamatory Articles Published About Dr. Rajan Mahtani

London, United Kingdom September 10, 2018

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani (popularly known as Dr. Mahtani) is a Zambian businessman and philanthropist and Chairman of the Mahtani Group of Companies. He has business interests across Africa, Europe and Asia. The Mahtani group includes a large number of Companies and has been built into one of the largest conglomorate in Zambia, employing over 3500 personell and funding more than twenty development projects in Zambia, apart from countless charitable and philanthropic initiatives.

However, his success has naturally been accompanied by a vicious smear campaign, aimed at maligning Dr. Mahtani’s reputation, by vested interests in Zambia, and supported by persons in America and Europe. It is noteworthy, that Dr. Mahtani filed defamation cases in the State of Arizona and State of Minnesota, USA against such publishers of defamatory articles, including Zambiareports.com. The case was resolved between both parties and Zambiareports removed all such articles as they were malicious, defamatory, libellous, false and without any substance.

It has been brought to our notice that certain articles emanating from the removed Zambiareports articles have been copied, reproduced and/or published by various other websites, individuals and online publications.

At Dr. Mahtani’s behest, his attorneys have reached out to those whose contact information was publicly available, while several others which were posted anonymously, remain in the public domain. To those publishing and posting false allegations, which have been proved to be without substance and deliberately malicious in various Courts of Law in USA, UK, and Zambia, Dr. Mahtani’s USA attorneys Clare Locke LLP , and UK attorneys Gordon Dadds LLP officially advise through their respective letters (attached) Individuals and organization who may which to seek independent clarification may write to them directly. In the absence of which, those indulging in these activities are warned that they do so at their own risk and Dr. Mahtani reserves the right to take appropriate legal action against them.

Dr. Mahtani has worked relentlessly for the upliftment and development of Zambia as a businessman and a philanthropist and has earned an impeccable reputation. He has led numerous businesses in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Europe and Asia with a primary focus on banking, insurance, property development, financial, manufacturing and investment sectors. His highly successful business and development projects have benefitted the respective Countrys’ economy and improved the standard of living in Zambia and other territories. He holds the importance of integrity, good governance, honesty and lawfulness very dear to him. He takes these false allegations as an attempt to defame and cause harm to not just his businesses, but him personally

Attachments:

1. Letter issued by USA attorneys Clare Locke LLP-

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tdz8hamgdva55on/ClareLocke.png?dl=0

2. UK attorneys Gordon Dadds LLP-

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sw91sr49tkmehee/Gordan%20Dadds.png?dl=0