The court war between Dr. Rajan Mahtani and the Ventriglias for Zambezi Portland Cement can be described as probably one of the longest running corporate court battles in Zambia. The case was first registered by Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia. The case was registered at the Lusaka High Court where it went for almost a decade before the final decision was made. Despite these, the final decision was made against Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s claims and the case was further taken to Court of Appeal.
On 31st January 2019, the Court of Appeal made its final decision on Zambezi Portland Cement. As per this decision, 58 percent shares of the factory belong to Finsbury Investments which is owned by Dr. Rajan Mahtani. On the other hand, Ventriglias own 42 percent shares and are minority shareholders. This decision is as per original Shareholders Agreement and based on this, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the owner of the Zambezi Portland Cement. Furthermore, all allegations of forgery have been discarded by the judge as it has been concluded that the process of mechanically placing signatures across business documents is a common practice within the Zambezi Portland Cement. It was also found that critical member of the Ventriglia family, Claudio Ventriglia, engaged in similar practice of mechanical signatures for business transactions. As such, this claim was discarded.
Along with this, a major revelation regarding the financial transactions for Zambezi Portland Cement was observed. Finsbury Investments, as per compliance with the Court judgment as well as for commercial registration of the Zambezi Portland Cement, paid a sum of K 580,000,000 with interest. Finsbury Investments has also claimed a sum of K1 billion with interest against payment made for entire share capital of Zambezi Portland during 2006 and 2007. This payment has been confirmed by the Court and along with this; Finsbury Investments has been given 58 percent shares at the factory.