Tag Archives: Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Recognised For Philanthropic Works

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is among the most respected and celebrated businessman in Zambia. He is known for several successful companies such as Mahtani Group and Finsbury Investments. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was recently honoured with one of the most prestigious business awards in Africa. This award ceremony was known as the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards ceremony and usually held during the annual Forbes-FIN (Foreign Investment Limited) roundtable conference. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was invited in this roundtable business conference as a honorary speaker, and spoke about the significance of philanthropy and leadership for the improvement of healthcare across Africa. Furthermore, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was also conferred with the Forbes ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year’ award. Dr. Rajan Mahtani received this award for his significant contributions towards the Zambian economy and transforming the banking sector of Zambia.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani was the only businessman from Zambia to be invited into the philanthropy and leadership roundtable conference as well as only businessman to be selected with the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is known for his several top companies including Mahtani Group and Finsbury Investments. The company Mahtani Group is known for its several extensions including agriculture, real estate mining, energy as well as insurance and financial services. Across all these sectors, Dr. Mahtani has been able to improve the industry standards and contribute towards the socio-economic development by providing employment and livelihood opportunities. Apart from his business contributions, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is also known for his philanthropic and charitable contributions. He is the founder and current owner of the Prison Fellowship Zambia. This program is affiliated with the PFI from Washington and focusses on the welfare as well as criminal justice procedures for inmates, ex-inmates as well as their families. Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s contributions further include founding the Stephen Malama award and scholarship for top law graduates in Zambia. Dr. Mahtani continues to work towards the growth and development of the Zambian nation.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Forbes Community Recognises Contributions By Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was one of the recipients of the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards that was held recently via online medium. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was nominated for the ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the year’ award 2021, a category which he later won. The award ceremony was hosted by Forbes and Foreign Investment Limited (FIN) and was a part of the annual FIN leadership and philanthropy business conference. The award ceremony is one of the most anticipated and noted business awards across Zambia. Firstly, the awards are selected, hosted and presented by Forbes, a well-known international business magazine. Forbes is known for his ranking-based issues that are selected with rigorous and transparent process. A similar process was applied for the selection of the awardees that included months of verification processes, background checks as well as interviews with the potential awardees to understand their contributions and knowledge regarding their own motherland. Mark Furlong anchored the event. Mark Furlong is the publisher 7 Founder of the Forbes International as well as the Forbes Afrique Media (FAM).

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani accepted the award in a humble and graceful manner. He thanked his almighty god for continuous support and perseverance during difficult and challenging times. He also thanked his team for their innumerable support which resulted in the success of his projects. Apart from Dr. Rajan Mahtani, several other businessmen and leaders were graced with the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ award categories. Wendy Ackerman was bestowed with the award for his entrepreneurial spirit including the Pick-n-Pay chain stores. Sam Matekane was recognised for his multi-sector entity which embodies aviation, farming, mining and transport. Similarly, Mahmood Ahmadu was awarded for his contributions across construction, agriculture, manufacturing as well as online solutions. In a similar manner, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was selected for his numerous contributions towards business and philanthropic activities across Zambia. For instance, he is the owner of the Mahtani Group along with Prison Fellowship Zambia as well as Stephen Malama award for top law graduates in Zambia.

Rajan Mahtani and Portland Cement Zambia

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani To Approach London High Court

One of the most notable and respected businessmen in Zambia, Dr. Rajan Mahtani recently hired reputed international law firm Omnia Strategy. The reason behind hiring of this law firm was a claim against Atlas Mara, a controversial banking and financial institutions in Zambia and in Africa established by even more controversial businessman Bob Diamond. Atlas Mara was established in the year 2013 with the objective of becoming banking giant in Africa. Atlas Mara under Bob Diamond went through several acquisitions in the following years since its establishment. One of these acquisitions was Finance Bank Zambia, a banking and financial institution established and led by Dr. Rajan Mahtani. The Finance Bank Zambia was taken over by Atlas Mara via an original share and sales agreement. However, according to the claim made by Dr. Rajan Mahtani, Atlas Mara did not honour this claim and Dr. Mahtani is still awaiting payment against the shares sold to Bob Diamond. On top of that, representatives from Atlas Mara alleged the claims made by Dr. Rajan Mahtani to be unsubstantiated.

Bob Diamond is a controversial businessmen who took over control of Dr. Mahtani’s Finance Bank Zambia in the year 2013. This was the time when Bob Diamond re-entered in Zambia after being ousted from CEO position at Barclays in 20132. This ouster was due to the infamous Livor-Rigging scandal in which Bob Diamond’s name emerged.

According to the claim established by Dr. Rajan Mahtani, Atlas Mara still owes him money from share sales of the Finance Bank Zambia. Apart from Dr. Rajan Mahtani, there are several other investors who are pursuing similar damage claim to the tune of 100 million euros. Since 2013, Atlas Mara shares have collapsed significantly. Despite stepping down as its Chairman in 2019, Diamond remained the non-Executive Director as well as largest shareholder of Atlas Mara. The claim by Dr. Rajan Mahtani comes at a time when Bob Diamond is attempting yet another comeback supported with USD 4.5 billion space-listing. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is expected to produce his case at the London High Court soon.

Mahtani Group of Companies

Dr. Mahtani Ready With His Case, To Approach London High Court Soon

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a respected businessman and philanthropist in Zambia. For more than three decades, Dr. Mahtani has been building successful organizations, businesses and ventures across the nation. He is also known for his significant charitable and philanthropic contributions for the economic and social development of the Zambian nation. Yet, Dr. Rajan Mahtani and similar other transparent and ethical businessmen in Zambia are continuously facing challenges and issues while establishing their businesses and continuing their operations. Dr. Rajan Mahtani recently approached international law firm Omnia strategy with a case of non-payment of dues against Atlas Mara. According to the claim established by Dr. Rajan Mahtani, Atlas Mara, a banking and financial institution conceptualised by Bob Diamond, failed to honour the agreement terms established between the bank and Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s Finance Bank Zambia. By breaching this agreement, Atlas Mara is liable for penalties as well as suing.

Bob Diamond is a controversial businessman due to his several connections to national scandal. The businessman had to step down from the position of Barclay’s CEO (Chief Executive Officer) after the 2012 Libor-Rigging scandal. However, he again entered the Zambian corporate in the year 2012 with his newly established banking institution Atlas Mara and his bold plan of becoming banking giant in Africa. With this mission, Bob Diamond’s Atlas Mara went on a shopping spree, acquiring several small and big banking and financial institutions in Zambia. One of these acquisitions was Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s Finance Bank Zambia which took place in the year 2015.

Regarding the claim established by Dr. Rajan Mahtani, Atlas Mara representatives have confidently said that the claim by Dr. Mahtani was without any merit. However, the reports and the timeline says otherwise. Along with Dr. Rajan Mahtani, there are several other investors who are also pursuing damages worth more than 100 million euros against Bob Diamond’s Atlas Mara. Dr. Rajan Mahtani will soon present his case at the London High Court via his hired law firm Omnia Strategy.

Dr. Mahtani and Finance bank

Supreme Court Announces Verdict In Dr. Mahtani’s Favour

The case of Portland Cement Zambia seems to be never-ending. It started at the Lusaka High Court and ended with Supreme Court Zambia, becoming one of those few cases coming to a full cycle. The case started when Portland Cement Zambia was unethically and illegally taken over, resulting in Dr. Mahtani approaching the Lusaka High Court for justice. Despite a long wait for more than a decade, Dr. Mahtani did not receive justice and justice Nkonde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal announced the Ventriglia family as the majority shareholder, despite the fact that the Ventriglia family failed to provide any significant document proving their ownership. After that, Dr. Mahtani approached the higher Court of Appeal with the hope of quick justice. The judge at the higher Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who gave the final decision on 31st January 2019. In this verdict, justice Mwinde reversed the previous decision from the Lusaka High Court and announced that Dr. Mahtani should be the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

It seems like the Ventriglia family were dissatisfied with this transparent and unbiased judgement and decided to approach the Supreme Court Zambia regarding this matter. A bench of three Supreme Court judges was then established for evaluating these aspects. These included judge Mumba Malila, judge Royda Kaoma and judge Michael Musonda. Together, an investigation on the validity of the claim by the Ventriglia family was launched and the bench found several aspects. One of the most critical aspects was that the Ventriglia family failed to comply with critical legal requirement in which all claims against previous court decisions must be submitted within 14 days of the judgement. However, the Ventriglia family approached the Supreme Court Zambia only after 1.5 years of the decision. As such, the Supreme Court Zambia declared that the case was beyond their jurisdiction and also invalid due to technical and legal failures, rejecting it effectively.

Dr. Mahtani

Ventriglia Family Disregards Decision From Supreme Court

The decision on the Portland Cement should have ended with higher Court of Appeal’s decision. On 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal reversed the decision on the Lusaka High Court and announced Dr. Mahtani as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. It seems like the Ventriglia family was still not happy with this transparent and firm decision from the higher Court of Appeal. As a result, they decided to approach even a higher Court, the Supreme Court Zambia, with their appeal. In their appeal, the Ventriglia family challenged the verdict of the higher Court of Appeal. In response, the Supreme Court Zambia established a bench of three Supreme Court judges and evaluated the authenticity and validity of this claim. During evaluation, it was found that the Ventriglia family failed to comply with critical legal requirement in which all claims against previous court decisions must be made with 14 days of the court decision itself. This means the Ventriglia family was required to submit their claims within two weeks, meaning by mid of February 2019 in order for the claim to be valid. However, the claim was established after more than 1.5 years of the case proceedings, making the claim valid. In a similar manner, the Supreme Court bench found that the circumstances surrounding the claim was questionable and as such, the Supreme Court bench concluded that the claim was beyond their jurisdiction. After complete evaluation, the Supreme Court bench concluded that the claim holds no ground and is rejected by the Supreme Court. Furthermore, the Supreme Court bench also confirmed that they stand with the decision from the higher Court of Appeal meaning Dr. Rajan Mahtani stays the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Despite the decision from the Supreme Court Zambia, it has now come into attention that the Ventriglia family is still creating mischiefs at the Portland Cement Zambia.

Chairman Finance Bank Zambia

Portland Cement Factory Ownership Is Now Stable, Supreme Court Confirms It Its Statement

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a noted businessman in Zambia. His successes expand to several companies and businesses including Mahtani Group of Companies, Finsbury Investments and Finance Bank Zambia. He is also known for his philanthropic and charitable activities, which often go unnoticed as Dr. Mahtani refrains from promoting or publishing his philanthropic acts. Despite this, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has faced several challenges in conducting his businesses. One of the biggest challenge till date has been associated with Portland Cement Zambia, a cement-manufacturing factory under dispute for more than a decade over its legal ownership.

Despite an official takeover by Finsbury Investments, the cement-manufacturing was unethically taken over by the Ventriglia family, prompting an appeal at the Lusaka High Court. However, the Lusaka High Court failed to provide transparent decision and announced Ventriglias as only shareholders after more than a decade of case proceedings.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani then decided to approach the higher Court of Appeal where justice Mwinde took over the case. The case proceedings went for around nine months and final verdict came on 31st January 2019. In this verdict, the decision from the Lusaka High Court was reversed and Dr. Rajan Mahtani was announced as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory.

The Ventriglia family, unhappy with this decision, launched another appeal at the Supreme Court Zambia. In their appeal they challenged the decision of the higher Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court then established a bench of three SC judges for evaluating the case. During evaluation, it was found that the Ventriglia family failed to comply with a critical legal requirement under which all claims against previous court decision must be made within 14 days of the case verdict. In this case, the claim by the Ventriglia family was made only after 1.5 years, making the claim invalid. Along with several other evaluations, the Supreme Court bench finally decided to reject the appeal by the Ventriglia family.

Rajan Mahtani and Portland Cement Zambia

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Remains The Owner Of The Portland Cement Factory

On 31st January 2019, higher Court of Appeal announced its final decision on the Portland Cement Zambia case in which the previous decision from the Lusaka High Court was reversed and Dr. Mahtani was announced as the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement factory. After this decision from the higher Court of Appeal, the Ventriglia family approached the Supreme Court Zambia challenging it. In their appeal, the Ventriglia family claimed that the decision from the higher Court of Appeal was incorrect and demanded to be changed. However, the Supreme Court Zambia established a bench of three Supreme Court judges to evaluate the validity of the claim. If this claim by the Ventriglia family is accepted, then a trial will be conducted based on the demands made in this claim. The three SC judges were Judge Mumba Malila, Judge Royda Kaoma and Judge Michael Musonda. During the evaluation, the Supreme Court judges found several discrepencies. For instance, it was found that the Ventriglia family failed to comply with a critical legal requirement associated with the claim. According to a law, all claims against previous court decisions must be established within 14 days of the court verdict itself. In this case, the verdict from the higher Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019. This means the timeline for submission of the claim against this decision was mid of February 2019. However, the Ventriglia family approached the Supreme Court Zambia with their claim after more than 1.5 years.

After looking into all these aspects, the Supreme Court came to the conclusion that the claim by the Ventriglia family cannot be attended and it was rejected. While giving this decision, the Supreme Court bench also said that their decision would have been similar to verdict given by the Higher Court of Appeal on the Portland Cement case. By giving this decision, the Supreme Court has further confirmed that majority shareholding and legal ownership of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani To Remain The Legal Owner Of The Portland Cement Factory, Confirms Supreme Court

The Portland Cement Zambia factory is one of the most disputed factories in Zambia. Since the occurrence of the major shareholding re-organization associated of Portland Cement, the factory is being constantly disputed for its ownership. One of the most controversial aspects associated with this factory is that despite having all evidences and testimonials, the actual owner had to fight for more than a decade to receive justice. In the year 2007, the shareholding of Portland Cement was re-organized via on original shareholding agreement. Based on this agreement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investment received 58 percent shares and became the majority shareholder of the factory. According to this same argument, the Ventriglia owned Ital Terrazzo Limited held 42 percent shares and was announced as only minority shareholder of the factory. After finalization of this shareholding pattern, Finsbury Investment secured loan from PTA bank for completing the factory’s construction and also procured further funds for starting a growth plan for the factory.

In this latest plan, the Ventriglia family disputed the legality associated with the original shareholding agreement and even influenced the decision of the Lusaka High Court when the case of Ventriglia family illegally taking over the factory was approached at the Court. This was done by political meddling, corporate criminality, bribery and similar activities which are common traits for them. After Lusaka High Court judge announced Ventriglias as the only shareholders of Portland Cement, Dr. Mahtani approached the higher Court of Appeal and received justice on 31st January 2019 when higher Court of Appeal judge Mwinde reversed the Lusaka High Court decision and announced Dr. Mahtani as the only majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory.

The Ventriglia family recently approached the Supreme Court claiming that the decision by the Court of Appeal was wrong. However, the Supreme Court bench thoroughly evaluated the claim and found it to be legally and evidentially invalid. As such, it was rejected.

Rajan Mahtani and Portland Cement Zambia

Bench Of Supreme Court Judges Dismiss The Bizarre Claim By The Ventriglia Family

More than 18 months after the Court of Appeal’s decision in which Dr. Rajan Mahtani received the majority shareholding and legal ownership of Portland Cement factory, the Ventriglia family decided to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision. This challenge was made at the Supreme Court Zambia, the highest legal institution of the nation. The Supreme Court Zambia, being a just and transparent legal system, established a bench of three judges from the Supreme Court to evaluate this claim. These included justice Mumba Malila, Justice Royda Kaoma and Justice Michael Musonda. After evaluation, the Supreme Court judges found that the Ventriglia family failed to satisfy one of the most critical requirements for their claim to be viable. According to the critical law, it is necessary for all appeals against previous court decisions to be registered within fourteen days of the verdict. In this case, the verdict from the higher Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019. Based on this, the Ventriglia family is way past their legal date for registering such claim. Furthermore, the Supreme Court judges also concluded that they did not have any jurisdiction towards entertaining this appeal from the Ventriglia family. The bench also confirmed that the circumstances characterising the appeal to the Supreme Court was made under legally flawed incidences. Furthermore, the Supreme Court judge also confirmed that they agreed with the action of Finsbury Investments to proceed with Rule -19 with the objective pre-empting and thwarting the further activities of the ill-fated appeal made by the Ventriglia family. Based on these evaluations, the Supreme Court Zambia effective immediately rejected the claim by the Ventriglia family.

With the rejection of this claim, it is now established that Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is to remain the majority shareholder as well as the legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.