Former ANC Chief Whip Tony Yengeni and his "best friend" are being sued for not paying for full-page national adverts they placed to clear his name.

The adverts, which appeared in four Sunday newspapers, came after a series of Sunday Times exposés on how Yengeni had received a huge discount on a luxury 4x4 Mercedes-Benz from an arms company.

Yengeni got the ML320 while he was chairman of the parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Defence which played a key role in deciding government's massive arms deal.

This week it emerged that Yengeni's best friend, Mcebisi Mlonzi, and a company, African Resource Corporation, are involved in a legal battle over the adverts costing R283 000. Ayanda Mbanga Communications has had summons served on the law firm Chuene Kwinana Motsatse Inc, which represented Yengeni at the time of the car debacle and had the adverts placed.

Yesterday Mbanga said she was promised payment within seven days of publication of the advertisements. The company sent numerous letters of demand and had received R70 000 four months later. The balance of more than R200 000, plus legal costs, remained outstanding.

"We are a small, struggling agency and debt (non-payment) is a major blow to us," she said.

Yengeni's former lawyer, Thabo Kwinana, said yesterday his firm had acted as an agent. He confirmed that they had added Yengeni, Mlonzi and his company, African Resource Corporation, to the civil suit.

Yesterday Mlonzi confirmed that they were served summons over the advertisements, published in all Sunday newspapers except the Sunday Times. They caused a stir as it was the first time Yengeni responded after this newspaper first published the story on his car.

Mlonzi also confirmed that he had arranged the advertisements published on July 15 last year to help clear Yengeni's name.

Mlonzi is the CEO of Zama Resource Corporation, a consortium of 70 black empowerment companies, which has won one of the most lucrative deals in the privatisation of government forestry company, Safcol.

Just three months after the adverts appeared, Yengeni and Michael Woerfel, head of the arms company European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company in South Africa, were arrested on fraud and corruption charges. They are due to appear in the Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on May 30.

With acknowledgements to Mzilikazi wa Afrika, Jessica Bezuidenhout and Sunday Times.