Imvume was able to get a court order restraining the Mail & Guardian from publishing the article, but was subsequently outmaneuvered when the Freedom Front Plus, an opposition political party, revealed the same information in Parliament.
[2][3][4] In February 2004, the Mail & Guardian reported that businessman Sandi Majali's companies, one of which was Imvume, had purchased Iraqi oil under the Oil-for-Food programme, which at the time was becoming infamous for its widespread abuse.
"[2] The ANC ultimately admitted that it had advocated on Imvume's behalf with the Iraqi government, but said that it had been legitimate support for an emerging black economic empowerment enterprise.
[3] In October 2005, the report of the independent inquiry appointed by the UN to investigate the Oil-for-Food programme, known as the Paul Volcker Committee, found both that ANC officials had been closely involved in the deals and that Majali had paid illegal kickbacks (known as surcharges) to the Iraqi regime.
[2] Imvume Holdings later won another state tender, this time a R750-million contract to supply condensate feedstock to PetroSA, the state-owned oil and gas company.