It's the discontinuity of being revealed more than the depth of depravity that spurs action on corruption.

If you do corruption in public there's no discontinuity when the story breaks.

It's the discontinuity, the shared, coordinated "they did what??" that leads to a force decisive enough to drive a coherent effort to punish it.

But the cynical among us^[ha] have noticed that in the modern era where divisive personalities have loyal mook armies, if they just commit the corruption brazenly and in public there will never be a discontinuous moment of alignment for the people who might bring them to justice for it.

"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity"