One of the most notorious families in Zambia is the Ventriglia family. The family and its members are owners to several companies in Zambia and outside. However, they are arguably one of the most difficult families to deal with due to the various allegations of unethical activities within their business. The Ventriglias have been in long battle with Dr. Rajan Mahtani, one of the most respectable and honoured businessman in Zambia. This long battle has been for the ownership of Portland Cement Zambia factory, a cement-manufacturing factory whose ownership remained in question for more than a decade. On 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde from higher Court of Appeal announced Dr. Rajan Mahtani as owner of 58 percent Portland Cement Zambia shares, making him the majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory.
To challenge this decision, the Ventriglias approached the Supreme Court of Zambia by claiming the higher Court of Appeal’s decision to be untrue. The Ventriglias further claimed that the actual amount payable to them was K580,000 million as opposed to K580,000 finalised by justice Mwinde from higher Court of Appeal. A bench of three judges was established at the Supreme Court to evaluate this appeal. Upon investigation, the Supreme Court bench declared several discrepancies in the claim submitted by the Ventriglias. One of the most critical was that the Ventriglias failed to follow the legal requirement of submitting claims against previous court decisions within fourteen days of the decision. This means the Ventriglias launched their appeal more than 15 months later, making the judges suspicious. After evaluation, the appeal from the Ventriglias was rejected and the Supreme Court confirmed ownership of Portland Cement to remain with Dr. Rajan Mahtani.
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