Portland Cement Zambia

New Announcement made by Lusaka High Court Justice, Dr. Mahtani Takes Action

Portland Cement Zambia is a noted cement-manufacturing factory in Zambia. The factory was once a popular employer due to his higher than industry wages and recognition as largest manufacturer of cement in Zambia. The factory was owned and lead by Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman, charity worker and philanthropist. However, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been fighting for the legal takeover of the bank.

Dr. Mahtani

The case was launched by Dr. Mahtani himself at the Lusaka High Court. During this long trial period of ten years; Dr. Mahtani and his lawyers submitted numerous documents and evidences that sufficiently prove the claims made by him. Some of these include signed shareholder’s agreement with written testimonials from majority of the shareholders, financial exhibits wherein it is clear that Dr. Mahtani has invested more than USD 12 million over the course of the factory’s growth and development processes. Another important evidence was the audit report conducted by an independent auditor. In this audit report, it was clear that Portland Cement Zambia was established as a joint venture and Dr. Rajan Mahtani was the sole joint venture partner of the factory.

All these evidences were more than enough for proving that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the real owner of the factory. However, the final verdict which was announced by the Lusaka High Court judge few weeks ago was shocking to say the least. The Justice, Mr. Nkonde, gave the final verdict against Dr. Mahtani’s claims. This was even after submitting all necessary documents, evidences and testimonials. It was clear that the judge completely ignored the documents and evidences shared and gave a misdirected judgment. The motive behind this misdirected judgment is unclear and it is still not clear why the judge gave this judgment even when majority of the evidences were clearly indicating that Dr. Mahtani’s claims were valid.

As of now, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has made an appeal to the higher court of appeal against the judgment made at the Lusaka High Court.

Zambian High Court Fails to Deliver Justice, Dr. Rajan Mahtani Moves to Higher Court

Dr. Rajan Mahtani is a celebrated businessman in Zambia. In this business career spanning more than three decades, he has faced numerous good and bad events and has come out as one of the most successful , honest and transparent businessman in Zambia. He is the owner of companies like Mahtani Group of Companies and Finsbury Investment. He is an avid charity worker and has made numerous contributions for the social and economic development of Zambia societies and communities.

Dr. Mahtani has been fighting for the legal takeover of another one of his establishments for the past ten years, Portland Cement Zambia. During these trial years, numerous changes were seen such as transfer of judges and non-availability of the respondents or evidences from their side. However, no judgment was given even though the lawyers from Dr. Mahtani’s end left no stones unturned in securing and providing critical evidences for supporting his claim.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani

The judge overseeing the case at present, Justice Nkonde, made a positive announcement few months earlier when he stated that in order to speed up the judgment process, the case hearing was over. This meant the judge would not take any more trials. Both parties were asked to submit evidences and testimonials in written as well as oral format. Based on these testimonials and evidences, the justice was supposed to make the final verdict. It was a winning situation for Dr. Mahtani as his evidences were all factual and more prominent than those submitted by the respondents. However, the final verdict announced by the judge was a shocking phenomenon. The judge announced the final verdict against Dr. Mahtani. It was clear that the significant evidences were not even taken into account.

While this judgment is certainly surprising and shocking, Dr. Mahtani has now taken action against this misdirected judgment. An appeal has been made at the higher court of appeal at Zambia wherein Dr. Mahtani has shared details of the event and is awaiting response.

Dr. Mahtani Unhappy with Lusaka HC judgment, Appeals to Higher Court

The case of Portland Cement Zambia is age-old. It is a noted cement factory which was successfully running under the leadership of Dr. Rajan Mahtani. Dr. Mahtani is a noted businessman and philanthropist with numerous successful businesses under his name. Some of his top businesses include Finsbury Investment, Mahtani Group of Companies and Finance Bank Zambia. All of his companies have reached heights in terms of success, productivity as well as accolades from the citizens as well as the government. Apart from that, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has also successfully established networks and businesses outside Zambia, such as in the United Kingdom. This has also helped him in bringing numerous foreign investment opportunities.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani filed for the legal takeover of the Portland Cement Zambia almost a decade back. Since then, he has been fighting for the legal rights of the factory. During this time, the factory production dropped and the majority of the workers and staff were either laid off or left the factory. The trial of the case also stretched too long for various reasons. For instance, the judges handling the case during the initial years got transferred or couldn’t take the case any further. In many other occasions, one of the parties was either absent or unavailable due to numerous circumstances. All these issues resulted in this long pendency of the Portland Cement Zambia case.

The latest judge overseeing the case made some progress when he announced that the case hearing is closed and both parties were requested to bring their evidences in written and oral format. After reviewing these evidences, the judge was to announce the final verdict. However, the recent judgment made by the same judge was considered as unfair by many as he gave the verdict against Dr. Rajan Mahtani. As a result, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has now approached a higher court of law to appeal against this judgment.

Sakwiba Sikota, Masozi Banda and Other Top Lawyers Caught in Shady Money Laundering Deal

The Financial Intelligence Centre recently disclosed a mass money laundering racket in Zambia involved top lawyers, legal counsellors and government officials. Even some of the known ministers have been accused of using their power to gain personal empire through black marketing and money laundering acts, as per the latest news reports by FIC.

The FIC sources initially met with the senior lawyers to discuss with the allegations with them. Almost all of these lawyers denied allegations of money laundering. For instance, Masozi M Banda is a lawyer working with the Avic International and is accused of laundering money worth millions of dollars. However, when he was confronted with the news, he vehemently denied these allegations by saying that the money in his account belongs to the Zambian Dictator, Edgar Lungu and he received this amount for his government contracts. However, FIC discovered that this defence statement from Banda was fake and further investigations are going on against him. During the investigation, the FIC also reported that most of these bank accounts were highly active during Rupaih Banda’s trail over the illegal Nigerian Oil dealings, during last year’s fraudulent elections as well as during Presidential Petition. Therefore, it is easy to see the connections between the money laundering activities and the requirement.

Money Laundering

During the investigation process, the FIC also disclosed occurrence of more than 35,000 suspicious bank transactions, deposits and cash withdrawals, from the individual and corporate bank accounts of the suspected lawyers. While Banda sits at the top of the list, another name was of Central Chambers, a law firm owned by Sakwiba Sikota. His name might sound familiar as he is also infamous for his long-term association with the Ventriglias as their legal association. Sikota has helped Ventriglias in numerous unethical and shady deals, such as the illegal takeover of the Portland Cement Zambia factory from its real and legal owner, Dr. Rajan Mahtani.

The FIC said that it will share more details of its ongoing money laundering investigation soon.

Sakiwba Sikota, the Lawyer of Ventriglias, Accused of Money Laundering

Financial Intelligence Centre reveals mass money laundering act in Zambia, and a loss of almost USD 1.5 billion worth of taxpayer’s money. Industrialists and locals have condemned this act of money laundering. One of the most infuriating concerns has been the involvement of top lawyers and legal counsellors in this act. While the FIC has been investigating money laundering for many months, they strengthened their investigation after observing more than 35,000 unauthorised cash transactions from the bank accounts of the suspected lawyers. Along with these lawyers, many public and private contractors were also being investigated and the FIC found that more than fifty percent of these contractors were not having any tax registration. However, most of these contractors received government contracts and under the name of these contracts, carried out their illegal money laundering practices.

Ventriglias & Sakwiba Sikota

Furthermore, it was also revealed that majority of the lawyers and legal counsellors were working for the government officials as well as ministers of the Zambian government. The list included names of some of the lawyers and their high involvement. Masozi Banda is a lawyer working with Avic International and has been accused of laundering money worth millions. Another name was of Sakwiba Sikota, the owner of Central Chambers and long-term associate of the Ventriglias. He and the Ventriglias have engaged in numerous unethical practices and got away with the law by taking advantage of the weak Zambian government. The most famous example is an illegal takeover of the Zambezi Portland Cement from Dr. Rajan Mahtani, its real and legal owner. From the facts, it is clear that these lawyers and other government officials are working only for their personal interest. The aim behind this money laundering heist is building the empire for the ministers and high ranking corrupt officials and getting rich during the process.

While the government has also started its own investigation process, it is high time for the law and policy makers in Zambia to look into their strengths and ensure that such corrupt practices are tacked effectively in future.

Financial Intelligence Centre Reveals the True Nature of Sakwiba Sikota, Lawyer for the Ventriglias

The latest revelation made by Financial Intelligence Zambia has certainly shocked everyone. The FIC, Financial Intelligence Centre, revealed a huge money laundering scheme currently undergoing in Zambia. The amount of money involved in this scheme is in upwards of USD 1.5 billion as per FIC. The sources also claimed that this money might be indicative and the actual amount involved in this money laundering scheme might be more. Along with this shock, there are numerous questions which are being raised regarding this scheme. The first and foremost is the inability of the government to scrutinize or even investigation such huge sums of money being laundered. After all, this black money is turned into white money with the help of government and other activities only.

Mass Money Laundering Fraud

Another important question which arises and needs to be answered is the widespread corruption and the inability of the government of lawmakers in Zambia to either track it or identify the culprits. It can be easily said here that the money launderers were able to hide in plain sight with the help of the government officials, who either removed all the evidences or stopped making any investigation after bribed by other members. Some of the top names in the list released by the FIC included Sakwiba Sikota and Masozi M. Banda. Banda is a lawyer working for Avic International and Sakwiba Sikota is the owner of Central Chambers. He is also the long-term legal associate for the Ventriglias, an infamous Italian family in Zambia known for their unethical practices. The Ventriglias are also responsible for ruining the Portland Cement Zambia after it was illegally taken over from its real owner, Dr. Rajan Mahtani.

Now that the crimes of these individuals are quite clear, it is time for the government to take stringent actions and bring them down. Money laundering is a serious crime and those misusing the taxpayer’s money should not be spared.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani & his team Happy with the New Court Announcement

The Portland Cement Zambia case is no doubt one of the most talked about corporate cases in recent times. The case is between Dr. Rajan Mahtani and the Ventriglias. While Dr. Rajan Mahtani is a noted businessman, philanthropist and charity worker; the Ventriglias are infamous for their unethical practices such as using bribes or force to get what they want. This is exactly what they did in case of Portland Cement Zambia. Knowing that they do not stand any chance of taking over the factory in legal terms, they used goons to take control over the factory from Dr. Rajan Mahtani. Later when a case was launched by Dr. Mahtani for this illegal takeover, they casually defended themselves by saying that Dr. Rajan Mahtani did not pay for the shares he owns at the factory.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani

During the course of the court proceedings, Dr. Mahtani and his lawyers have submitted numerous documents and evidences that sufficiently prove his legal ownership over the factory. Some of these are signed shareholders agreement, financial exhibits which clearly shows his investment in the shares as well as in the factory worth more than USD 8 million as well as numerous testimonials from important members of the factory. Another important document which Dr. Mahtani shared is the audit report conducted by an independent auditor at the factory. The audit report clearly states that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the legal owner of the factory which was established as joint venture. He is the sole joint venture partner and the rest of the members are just shareowners. The Ventriglias, on the other hand, have not shared any strong evidence to prove their claim.

The judge handling this case has announced that case hearing is closed and both teams have been asked to submit their evidences in written and oral format. Post evaluation of these evidences, final judgment will be announced soon.

Dr. Mahtani And Team Expects Big Win With New Court Announcement

Zambezi Portland Cement is a case known by almost all of the individuals across the Zambian corporate sector. This can be attributed to its high-profile nature and the involvement of two very different parties. The case was launched at the Lusaka High Court by Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a noted businessman who is also known for his philanthropic and charitable activities. On the other hand, there is the Ventriglias family. They are Italian outsiders known for their notorious activities in Zambia. The case is for the legal ownership of Zambezi Portland Cement which has been illegally taken over by the Ventriglias.

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The Illegal Rule Of Ventriglias Over Zambezi Portland Might End Soon

Zambezi Portland Cement was once upon a time a premier cement manufacturing and distributing company of Zambia. The company was known for its surplus production and wages which were above the industry standards. Then came the Ventriglias, who took over the factory illegally, claiming their ownership over it. Since that time, the fight for the real ownership of Zambezi Portland has been going on at the Lusaka High Court. This fight is between Dr. Rajan Mahtani and the Ventriglias.

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High Court Announces New Information On The Zambezi Portland Case

The Lusaka High Court, which has been handling the Zambezi Portland Cement case for the past nine years made a new update. As per the judge currently handling this case, the hearing has been closed for now. The case is a long-pending corporate case between Dr. Rajan Mahtani, owner of Finsbury Investments and the Ventriglias, owner of the private firm Ital Terrazzo Limited. Dr. Mahtani also owns and runs other establishments such as Finance Bank Zambia and Mahtani Group of Industries.

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