Editing Political corruption (section)

===Kickbacks===
{{main|Kickback (bribery)}}
{{See also|Anti-competitive practices|Bid rigging|Fraud|Charbonneau Commission}}
A [[Money trail|kickback]] is an official's share of misappropriated funds allocated from his or her organization to an organization involved in corrupt [[bidding]]. For example, suppose that a politician is in charge of choosing how to spend some public funds. He can give a [[contract]] to a [[General contractor|company]] that is not the best bidder, or allocate more than they deserve. In this case, the company benefits, and in exchange for betraying the public, the official receives a kickback payment, which is a portion of the sum the company received. This sum itself may be all or a portion of the difference between the actual (inflated) payment to the company and the (lower) market-based price that would have been paid had the bidding been competitive. Another example of a kickback would be if a judge receives a portion of the profits that a business makes in exchange for his judicial decisions. Kickbacks are not limited to government officials; any situation in which people are entrusted to spend funds that do not belong to them are susceptible to this kind of corruption.