After a long time, the Zambezi Portland Cement and its supporters came across some good news related to the case pending at the Lusaka High Court. The case was launched BY Dr. Rajan Mahtani when the Ventriglias took over the factory illegally. Since then, Dr. Mahtani has been fighting this war at the court. However, it has been almost ten years and the court has not been able to provide any sound judgment till date. Therefore, the latest news announcement by the court that the hearing for the case is closed and the final judgment will be announced soon, was a welcoming move. The team from Dr. Rajan Mahtani knows very well that they have all the evidence and documents to support their claim and ownership over the factory. At the same time, the Ventriglias have not shared any significant document or proof to support their side of the claim that the shares owned by Dr. Rajan Mahtani were not paid for.
During the proceedings, Dr. Mahtani and his team have submitted various evidence. One of them was the shareholder’s agreement signed by each shareholder who clearly stated that Dr. Rajan Mahtani holds 58 percent shares at the Zambezi Portland Cement and has been paid for. This agreement was taken as evidence by the court. He also shared financial exhibits that clearly stated that his company, Finsbury Investments, invested more than USD 8 million in the factory’s growth and development. Furthermore, Dr. Mahtani had previously conducted an audit of the factory via an independent auditor. As per his audit report, the factory is based on joint venture partnership and Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been listed as the sole joint venture partner. All these factors clearly indicate his legal ownership over the factory.
All the Ventriglias have done till now is unsuccessful attempts to discredit Dr. Mahtani and his team to gain confidence over the judge. However, all these attempts have been discarded. The final judgment will be announced soon.