The Zambezi Portland Cement is a known cement factory in Zambia. The factory was started and run under the leadership of Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a noted businessman in the country. He is also known for his philanthropic activities and charitable contributions across the nation. His companies, Finsbury Investments and Mahtani Group of Industries have touched great heights in terms of success and growth. However, Dr. Mahtani has always been a ground person and when the Ventriglias took control of the Zambezi Portland illegally, Dr. Mahtani took the long but right path of approaching the court to fight for his ownership over the factory. However, the system failed him once again and it has been almost 10 years now without any conclusion or decision by the court.

The latest announcement by Lusaka High Court is definitely good news for Dr. Mahtani and team and means that the case is going in the right direction. The case was between Finsbury Investments which is owned by Dr. Mahtani and the Ventriglias Family, especially the husband-wife duo. At the same time, the Ventriglias have challenged that the shares held by Finsbury Investments in ZPC are not paid. However, Dr. Mahtani has shared several exhibits, documents and statements that effectively conclude his claims in the cement factory. The signed shareholder’s agreement submitted by Dr. Mahtani’s team has been taken, re-examined and accepted as his evidence that Finsbury Investment holds 58 percent ZPC shares while Ital Terrazzo Limited holds 42 percent shares. It should also be noted here that the Ital Terrazzo is a private entity with the Ventriglias as the sole beneficiary. The activities and financials of the company are under the wraps and often questionable.

Both parties have been given timeline till December 2017 to submit their case evidence and submissions in written and oral form and post evaluation of these, the judge will announce final judgment.