Cape Town - New revelations of senior government officials benefiting from the arms deal has placed the credibility of the Joint Investigating Team (JIT) in the dock, the Democratic Alliance said on Thursday.

Reacting to an article in this week's Financial Mail magazine, the DA's former public accounts spokesperson Raenette Taljaard said in a statement new information would continue to damage government and the investigators.

"The price of a cover-up is always that information will continue to leak and do damage to both government and those responsible for a weak and flawed investigation."

Taljaard said that according to the magazine, the late former Minister of Defence Joe Modise, Denel Chairperson Ian Deetlefs and Armscor Chairperson Ron Haywood received shares worth millions through a company they had hoped would benefit from offsets linked to the arms deal.

Modise was set to benefit substantively from the counter-trade arrangement in the arms deal.

The arms deal probe - conducted by Auditor-General Shauket Fakie, Public Protector Selby Baqwa and National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka - found no "improper or unlawful conduct" by the government, and no grounds to suggest its contracting position was flawed.

The report - unveiled in parliament late last year - did, however, say that Modise's involvement in a company, Conlog, that benefited from arms deal offsets was "extremely undesirable".

Ngcuka later told reporters that certain issues were still under investigation.

Taljaard said the JIT report contained "mild rebukes and unsubstantiated findings".

"It was with a sense of complete disbelief that we saw the JIT report had no conclusive findings on former minister Modise's business interests in the arms deal.

"We could only find a limp-wristed recommendation retrospectively condemning the undesirability of conflicts of interest of members of the executive without probing minister Modise adequately.

"Worse still it cleared the executive of any wrong-doing in the arms deal without interrogating the Modise issue thoroughly."

This had prevented South Africans from knowing the truth about the former minister's personal gain, compromising the credibility of the report substantially, she said.

In another statement, United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa said the arms deal would continue to haunt government until it was properly investigated.

"The UDM notes with dismay new reports that senior government politicians and officials were in fact involved in improper conduct during the arms deal, despite vehement denials by government."

He said Modise's involvement in Conlog had been brushed aside by the investigators.

"It now appears, according to the Financial Mail, that not only did Mr Modise benefit directly from this company, while still in government office, but that he and others also intended to secure contracts within the arms deal," Holomisa said.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and www.news24.co.za