African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema contended on Monday that he was the victim of a conspiracy to discredit him in the media.

"... Those who own the means of production [mine owners in particular] and those who think the ANCYL will not support them for election and re-election into ANC leadership in 2012 have merged to discredit the leadership of the ANC Youth League," Malema said in Johannesburg.

He was briefing reporters after questions were raised about his lifestyle in media reports last week and over the weekend.

Malema said that he had resigned from the company SGL in 2008, following a Sunday Times report on his connections to the company.

"Since my election as president of the ANC Youth League in 2008, I instructed my lawyers to process my resignations from all these corporations and companies... when I was based in Limpopo province," he said.

He had done so to enable him to focus his attentions on the ANCYL.

Malema could not provide any written proof of his resignations from the various companies saying that all communication with his lawyer had been done telephonically.

The Sunday Times reported that Malema had benefited by millions of rand from tenders awarded to the company SGL.

He could also not answer why he was listed as a director of SGL in 2008 and in November 2009.

He said if he was still listed as a director in 2009, he did not know anything about it.

Malema was adamant that he did not benefit from any tenders relating to SGL and said he had never stolen anything from anyone.

"Nobody will tell me I stole from the poor, I have never done that."

Malema said that tenders received by SGL were awarded during the premiership of Sello Moloto.

He claimed that Moloto "hated" him and would not have given business to a company linked to him.

"... For the record, those people [SGL] got tenders from the government of Sello Moloto who was opposed to me.

"If Moloto was given the opportunity to find any corrupt activity on me, he would have jailed me."

Malema rounded on the media, accusing it of accepting brown envelopes, sleeping with people and drinking with politicians to get information.

"We know who receives brown envelopes where, who sleeps with who, who drinks with who until seven in the morning revealing everything," he said.

On his salary, he cited a contractual agreement with the ANC indicating that his salary was confidential as the reason he had declined to reveal the amount. He was prepared to reveal that it was "way above R20 000".

Malema indicated that the ANCYL, with the support of Congress of South African Trade Unions, would continue to influence the ANC on the nationalisation of the mines.