According To The Final Decision From Court Of Appeal, Dr. Rajan Mahtani Is The Majority Shareholder Of Zambezi Portland Cement

If one goes by the latest news after the decision from the Court of Appeal, the truth regarding the notorious Ventriglia family of Zambia will come out. The decision of Court of Appeal was for Zambezi Portland Cement, a cement manufacturing factory which was being contested by two major business empires in Zambia. One of them is Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist with numerous successful ventures in Zambia. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is also the rightful owner of Zambezi Portland Cement factory for which he fought the case at the Lusaka High Court for more than ten years. After the Lusaka High Court judge announced a disappointing decision in which Ventriglias were considered as the only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement; Dr. Rajan Mahtani took the right step and approached the Court of Appeal.

The judgement from the Court of Appeal was given by Justice Mwinde. The final decision was announced on 31^st January 2019 during the morning hours. According to this decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments is the majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with 58 percent shares. On the other hand, Ital Terrazzo Limited which is owned by the Ventriglias own 42 percent shares and are the minority shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. The Court of Appeal also confirmed that this shareholding pattern aligns with the original shareholders agreement which was established in the year 2007.

The forgery allegations were dismissed right away as the judge announced that the process of mechanical placement of signatures for business transactions was a common affair at Zambezi Portland Cement. The judge also said that Claudio Ventriglia, a critical member of the Ventriglia family engaged in similar transactions and therefore, the allegations were invalid. Furthermore, a timeline of three months from the date of the judgement has been given by the Court of Appeal judge. During this time, all share sales related activities must be completed.