They’re like unthinking dogs who run in packs, sniffing at rears and going mad.
They’ll never change.
IMHO
Tempting to believe but they are not stupid people, they just thought they would get away with it. They even said so to each other. They didn’t.
Now they are just trying to limit the damage. Too bad they did not consider from the outset that had they put half the effort into doing their job with integrity they put into corruption they would not be in the unenviable position they are in.