Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia, recently alleged breach of contract by controversial banking group Atlas Mara. As such, Atlas Mara and its owner Bob Diamon faces a multi-million pound damage claim.

Atlas Mara is a banking and financial group that was established by Bob Diamond in the year 2013. The objective was to transform LSE (London Stock Exchange) listed Atlas Mara into a banking market leader across Africa. To fulfil this plan, Atlas Mara under the ownership of Bob Diamond underwent several acquisitions since its launch. Among these acquisitions was Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finance Bank Zambia. This acquisition took place in the year 2015 via an original share sales & purchase agreement in which majority shares of Finance Bank Zambia were received by Atlas Mara against a specific payment. However, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has claimed that he is yet to receive the payment against the majority shares of Finance Bank Zambia.

As of now, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani has hired international law firm Omnia Strategy for taking the case to the London High Court. Omnia Strategy is a noted international firm that is famed due to its owner Cherie Blair. The claim by Dr. Rajan Mahtani comes at a time when Atlas Mara is continuing its retreat strategy from the African region by selling its business parts to the Access Bank. The Atlas Mara shares have tumbled since its launch and in the year 2019, Bob Diamond stepped down from the position of the Chairman of Atlas Mara after review by Citi. However, he had remained the majority shareholder of Atlas Mara.

Apart from Dr. Rajan Mahtani, there are several investors who have pursued damages claim worth more than 100 million pounds against Atlas Mara. Atlas Mara representatives have argued that these claims are without merit and fundamentally weak. At the same time, Bob Diamond is planning another venture attempt with USD 4.5 billion of Spacelisting fund.