Problem Statement

Angolan and Mozambican petty officials, who call it a Gazoso in Portuguese. Double meaning can help soothe the awkwardness of bribe-paying. Baksheesh, originally a Persian word now found in many countries of the Middle East, can mean "tip", "alms" and "bribe". In Kenya a machine gun wielding guard suggested to a terrified Canadian aid worker: "Perhaps you would like to discuss this over chai?" The young Canadian was relieved: the difficulty could be resolved with some chai, which means both "tea" and "bribe". Along with the obscurantist language, bribe-taking culture around the world often involves the avoidance of physically handing the money from one person to another. One obvious reason is to avoid detection, which is why bribes are known as "envelopes" in countries from China to Greece. But avoidance of a direct hand-over is common even where there is no chance of detection. There will always be some officials who will take money right from a bribe payer's hands, but most seem to p