The Court of Appeal at Zambia took a no nonsense approach and gave a firm decision on Zambezi Portland Cement on 31st January 2019. This decision came almost nine months after May 2019 when the Lusaka High Court where the original case on Zambezi Portland Cement was established, gave its judgement. The judgement from the Lusaka High Court that the Ventriglias were only shareholders of Zambezi Portland was questioned by majority as the decision was given without looking into evidences or critical facts. As of now, only the decision from the Court of Appeal holds ground.
The judgement from the Court of Appeal was given by Justice Mwinde Siavwapa, and as per this judgement, Finsbury Investments holds 58 percent shares at the Zambezi Portland Cement and is the actual owner of the factory. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the owner of the Finsbury Investments and the cement factory. The Ventriglias, on the other hand, hold 42 percent shares at the factory and are minority shareholders of the Zambezi Portland without any ownership stature. This decision also aligned with the original Shareholders Agreement which was established in the year 2007.
Forgery allegations made in this case were also discarded by the justice. It was announced that the practice of mechanically placing signatures on business papers was common in business transactions across Zambezi Portland Cement. The judge also said that Ventriglias family member Claudio Ventriglia engaged in similar practice and therefore, the allegations were not valid. Both parties in this case have been given a timeframe of three months from the judgement date to finalise on the sales of shares and regularize the process.
The judgement from the Court of Appeal was given by Justice Mwinde Siavwapa, and as per this judgement, Finsbury Investments holds 58 percent shares at the Zambezi Portland Cement and is the actual owner of the factory. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the owner of the Finsbury Investments and the cement factory. The Ventriglias, on the other hand, hold 42 percent shares at the factory and are minority shareholders of the Zambezi Portland without any ownership stature. This decision also aligned with the original Shareholders Agreement which was established in the year 2007.
Forgery allegations made in this case were also discarded by the justice. It was announced that the practice of mechanically placing signatures on business papers was common in business transactions across Zambezi Portland Cement. The judge also said that Ventriglias family member Claudio Ventriglia engaged in similar practice and therefore, the allegations were not valid. Both parties in this case have been given a timeframe of three months from the judgement date to finalise on the sales of shares and regularize the process.