Failure by the government to provide "critical" information relating to investigations into the arms deal appeared to be the main reason for the end of Germany's investigations into the matter, the DA said on Thursday .

Democratic Alliance member of parliament and arms deal spokesperson Eddie Trent said the decision by German prosecutors to cease investigations into alleged corruption of the sale of four ships to the South African government was likely because of "lack of information."

This helped to entrench the view that the arms deal was "tainted by corruption from deep within the state, especially when read in conjunction with the possible closure of the Scorpions," he added.

He said if government was serious about fighting corruption it would invest its time and resources into gathering and analysing the necessary information.

The DA said organised crime and corruption were complicated crimes to investigate and that the government's response to date was to weaken the Independent Complaints Directorate and to get rid of the Scorpions.

"While we are disappointed with the German public prosecutor's decision to stop its investigation, the DA will continue to tirelessly fight the issue of the arms deal at Parliament, as we believe that the guilty should not be allowed to go unpunished," said Trent.

The party said it was in contact with the German prosecuting authorities since writing to them in April to offer the party's assistance with investigations.

"We have since written to them again, this time asking them to provide us with as much relevant information as they can in order that we can take the matter further in South Africa".

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With acknowledgements to Sapa and Cape Times.