Zambezi Portland Ex-MDs Barred from Accessing Properties

THE Ndola magistrate’s court has restrained former Zambezi Portland Cement directors Antonio Ventriglia and his wife Manuela from accessing their properties and joint bank account until investigations are completed.
The restraining order comes after an application by the state to restrain the Ventriglias from accessing their joint bank account and properties suspected to have been bought using K4 million suspected to have been stolen from Zambezi Portland Cement.
Ndola chief resident magistrate Paul Chisha ruled on Thursday last week that the Ventriglias be restrained from accessing the money in the Access Bank joint account and the properties.
“It is hereby ordered and directed that money held in the joint account at Access Bank and the named properties be restrained from any dealing by the accused, their agents until investigations are concluded,” Mr Chisha said.
In the notice of an application for a restraining order, the state had applied that the couple be restrained from all monies held under account number 0040241102851 maintained at Access Bank Zambia Limited, Ndola branch.
The court also restrained the Ventriglias from accessing properties F/748/Y20/16, F748/Y20/117 Fitente Road, Northrise in Ndola and Plot number eight Kabinga Road, Northrise in Ndola.
And an affidavit filed in support of the application by Chileshe Mukuka , an officer in the criminal investigations department of the Zambia Police Service based in Lusaka , indicated that on June 12, 2013, he received a report of theft filed by Zambezi Portland Cement director Andrew Kamanga.
The report was that the Ventrigilas on dates unknown but between January 2010 and December 2012 being directors of Zambezi Portland Cement, jointly and whilst acting together fraudulently stole company money in excess of K4 million and converted it to their personal use.
“Upon instituting investigations, I searched various accounts held by the accused persons and the complainant’s company, where I came across various transfers of monies from the company account,” the affidavit reads in part.
The affidavit reads that upon further investigations, Mr Mukuka came across a letter of transfer of funds in the sum of K2 million signed by the couple instructing the bank to transfer monies from the Zambezi Portland Cement account to their joint bank account number 0040241102851 held at Access Bank.
Mr Mukuka said he traced the suspected stolen funds in the said joint account.
And prosecutor Conrad Milimo said the state had decided to make the application because the couple is being investigated for the theft of over K4 million.
Mr Milimo said after a search, it was discovered that part of the money was still in the account, and that it also came to the attention of the state that part of the said money had been used to buy the named properties.
“The state is, therefore, applying for a restraining order pending investigations,” he said.
And Mr Chisha said in the event that the order is not granted, there is a high possibility that the accused may tamper with the money in the account.