In a new controversy to enmesh the Scorpions elite crime-fighting unit and its former chief Bulelani Ngcuka, politician and convicted fraud Tony Yengeni has accused Ngcuka of reneging on a deal to guarantee him a maximum R5000 fine in exchange for a guilty plea.

Yengeni, a former African National Congress chief whip who faces a four-year prison term, claims the deal was struck at a meeting between himself, Ngcuka and former justice minister Penuell Maduna at Maduna's Johannesburg home in January 2003.

Ngcuka yesterday denied Yengeni's claims of a deal.

Yengeni accused Ngcuka, in an affidavit filed in the Pretoria High Court in a revised notice of appeal yesterday, of not honouring the promise he made to him.

Yengeni was sentenced by the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court in March 2003 to four years in jail after pleading guilty to a charge of fraud by failing to disclose a 47% discount he received on a 4x4 Mercedes-Benz. The discount was given to him by Michael Woerfel, MD of German-owned European Aeronautic Defence & Space, a subcontractor in the defence procurement process.

Ngcuka said yesterday that Yengeni's statement was a contrived version of what had really occurred.

He said he was surprised Yengeni was raising this matter nearly two years after he had been convicted.

Ngcuka's spokesman, Sipho Ngwema, said plea bargains were usually a product of the defence and the prosecution and that the national director would not have been involved.

Ngwema said that a meeting was arranged to which Ngcuka had been invited . "Mr Ngcuka agreed in principle for a need for plea bargaining, but stated that he did not discuss these things," he said.

"Plea agreements are products of negotiations between the prosecution team handling the case and the defence," Ngwema said.

He said Ngcuka would expose the contrived version of Yengeni's claims in court.

Yengeni claims that at the meeting at Maduna's house Ngcuka had told him that he was not interested in destroying him (Yengeni) and that the matter should be settled.

"Mr Ngcuka called me Hlathi, my clan name, and said that I was his ‘home boy'. He further indicated he was not interested in destroying me and he was in agreement the matter should be settled.

"Minister Maduna suggested the matter be withdrawn because in his view there was no evidence against me. Mr Ngcuka indicated he could not withdraw the matter as the case had already commenced and that the case had attracted a lot of public and media attention."

Ngcuka, Yengeni said, had suggested he (Ngcuka) should plead guilty to a "watered down charge" of fraud and he would see to it that Yengeni received a fine of not more than R5000."

Yengeni said he had been advised by his legal representatives that the state was bound by such agreements.

With acknowledgements to Ernest Mabuza, Sapa and the Business Day.