do all the buttons on your MLF steering wheel work? Or is it just that the lever that controls the steering wheel movement doesn't work?
Although the seat control module controls the steering wheel movement...if one of the connectors coming from the slipring isn't plugged in...this my contain the wires that carry data from the leaver to the seat control module.
I say this because it looks very similar to one of the harnesses when I upgraded the steering wheel in my e38 from the 4 spoke to the 3 spoke. You may want too remove the panels from around the steering column to check if that plug is disconnected from where you see one similar in my e38 below: