Lusaka High Court Judge Made New Announcement, Considers Milestone

The long-pending case between Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments and Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited is nearing an end. The case has been going on for the past 9 years and the judge handling this case at present has hailed the proceedings as a milestone. The judge concluded the case. However, final judgment date is still pending and there are few processes left.

The case is for shareholding dispute and ownership of Zambezi Portland Cement for which both parties have claimed ownership. The cement factory was under the ownership of Dr. Rajan Mahtani. However, it was illegally and forcefully taken over by the Ventriglias. Since then, Dr. Mahtani has been fighting the case. The Ventriglias then launched a counterclaim in which they have contended that the shares of Dr. Mahtani are not paid for. However, the legal statements and shareholder agreements have been proved otherwise.

Over the course of the case proceedings, various exhibits and shareholder agreements have been submitted by Finsbury Investments proving his claim over the factory. For instance, the official signed shareholder agreement for the ZPC clearly indicates that Finsbury Investments hold 58 percent shares and the Ventriglias family owned Ital Terrazzo holds only 42 percent. Furthermore, an independent audit report clearly proves that Zambezi Portland was run as a joint venture wherein Dr. Mahtani was a joint venture partner with majority shares. Rest of the shares were distributed among the Ventriglias family members and other shareholders. Statements and exhibits were submitted by Finsbury Investments proving their investments in share capital as well as in the factory, which is more than USD 8 million.

All of the above evidences clearly indicate that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the legal owner of the factory. The rest is in the hands of the judge and the court.