With the latest announcement by Zambian Supreme Court, it can be said that the Zambezi Portland Cement case is finally over. The Supreme Court Zambia recently threw out the last attempt by the Ventriglias towards taking control of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory. The Ventriglias established a challenge at the Supreme Court Zambia, claiming that the decision from the higher Court of Appeal on Portland Cement Zambia case is incorrect. It should be noted here that justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal effectively reversed the decision from the Lusaka High Court. In the month of May, 2018, Lusaka High Court announced that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory. This decision was considered to be extremely controversial as all evidences and testimonials indicated that Dr. Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments was the actual owner of the factory. It was clear that the decision from Justice Nkonde of the Lusaka High Court was influenced by political meddling and unethical lobbying from the Ventriglias. The Ventriglias, notoriously known as the Italian mafia family of Zambia, are known to utilise unethical and even illegal means to fulfil their objectives.
Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, on the other hand, is known for his significant transparent business practices and trust towards the Zambian legal system. After Lusaka High Court failed to give the right decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani immediately approached the higher Court of Appeal. Justice Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal gave the decision on 31st January 2019. According to this decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments was found to have ownership of 58 percent shares of the factory, thus becoming the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory.
The Ventriglias then tried to challenge this decision from the Court of Appeal at the Supreme Court Zambia. However, their attempt resulted in embarrassment as the Supreme Court judge revealed that they were a little too late in making the appeal. Based on these facts, the claim from the Ventriglias was rejected.