grease payment

English

grease payment (plural grease payments)

(chiefly US, idiomatic, business, law, ethics) A bribe or extorted money, usually relatively small in amount, provided to a low-level government official or business person, in order to expedite a business decision, shipment, or other transaction, especially in a country where such payments are not unusual.
- 1981 July 28, Peter Grier, “US curb on overseas bribes: too prim, or simply proper?”, in Christian Science Monitor, retrieved 9 Apr. 2009:
  Critics say there is no distinction between extortion and bribery, and that the distinction between a payoff (illegal) and a "grease" payment made to speed along normal duties (legal under the act) is unclear.
- 2007 October 30, Mike Rast, “Webinar Prepares Local Companies for Cultural Gaps with India, China”, in globalatlanta.com, retrieved 9 Apr. 2009:
  An important legal distinction is the difference between bribery and “grease payments,” which are paid in these countries not to affect someone’s decision-making but to speed the process of dealing with government.

bribe