Tony Yengeni's 4x4 car became so notorious that it gave rise to a new South African slang term: "Yengenis", a word to describe a luxury Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) that, in the words of Yengeni himself, "go like a jet".

Yengeni was one of more than 30 government big wigs to get "help" from the arms company, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), and benefit from generous discounts. But it can be argued that while he received the biggest discount of them all, he ended up paying the most dearly for it.

Back in 2001, under pressure from the media, on the one hand, and from state investigators, on the other, EADS admitted it had been involved in obtaining cars for politicians. The company said it helped about 30 VIPs over the previous three years to buy vehicles. EADS obtained these cars from a linked company, Daimler Chrysler and discounts on the cars ranged from 3.28% to 47.83%.

Eyebrows were raised still further when it was revealed that recipients of discounts included Armscor heads, Ron Haywood and Llew Swan, as well as South African National Defence Force chief Siphiwe Nyanda and South African Air Force chief Ralf Beukes.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry's director of arms deal counter-trade, Vanan Pillay, lost his job after an internal departmental hearing found him guilty of receiving a R55 000 discount on a Mercedes Benz.

At least four of the luxury cars were for Michael Woerfel, the then managing director of EADS.

This led to suspicions that these vehicles may have been earmarked for other unnamed recipients.

Questions were also asked as to why Yengeni's wife, Lumka, had received a car that had been ordered by Woerfel.

It wasn't only ruling party MPs that came under scrutiny over the discounts.

The IFP's Mandla Msomi had to face questions from parliament's ethics committee following revelations in the media of how the former Public Enterprises committee chairperson had dealings with Woerfel regarding discounts he received on two vehicles. He was subsequently redeployed from parliament to his party's headquarters in Durban.

Then came revelations of discounts on vehicles offered to members of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce, but Daimler-Chrysler hastened to point out that these discounts were organised directly with members of the chamber and not through a third party like EADS.

The revelations extended to the presidency itself with a report surfacing that Daimler Chrysler had allowed President Thabo Mbeki to test drive a R2 million vehicle for an extended period of time.

With acknowledgement to Chiara Carter and Sunday Argus.