I am infinitely sure that among the thousands of civil serpents who had any minor/major involvement or interaction with washing machine PRCs, a few would have at least thought "hey, something's not right."
But ours is a hierarchal system and culture, so some red or maybe even beige flags aren't brought up for further investigation. What if Ho Jinx gets angry? Cannot offend the Empress Dowager, right? Our superiors approved it, so we shouldn't rock the boat and ask probing questions.
The entire world knows that this country is now a hotbed for dirty money. We have already developed such a filthy reputation in such particular matters that even now, right or wrong, if it is perceived to be wrong, it is wrong.
And the allegations will stick, the country will be further besmirched, even if a detailed investigation eventually clears us.
You know how CJC used to have that reputation of the highest abortion rate amongst all the JCs nationwide? There was never any proof, only gossip, because CJC had a co-ed hostel, but the rumour stuck around for decades.
We're seeing it happen now to an entire country.
PAP wansui!