Whether or not former African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni retains his parliamentary seat would depend on the sentence he is to receive after being convicted of fraud on Thursday.

In terms of the Constitution, no person may be a member of the National Assembly if convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months' imprisonment without the option of a fine.

Chapter four of the Constitution also states: "No one may be regarded as having been sentenced until an appeal against the conviction or sentence has been determined or until the time for an appeal has expired".

Yengeni was earlier in the day found guilty of fraud in Pretoria's Commercial Crimes Court in terms of a plea agreement with the state.

In return, he was acquitted of corruption. The charges related to a 47 percent discount he received on a luxury 4X4 Mercedes Benz in 1998.

In a written plea explanation, Yengeni admitted he acted in breach of his public duties and with the intent to defraud Parliament. He was at the time chairman of Parliament's joint standing committee on defence.

Arguments in mitigation and aggravation of sentence are to start on Monday.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and iafrica.com.