theverge[.]com/2022/3/25/22995144/microsoft-foreign-corrupt-practices-bribery-whistleblower-contracting?utm_campaign=theverge&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
lioness[.]co/post/microsoft-is-using-illegal-bribes-in-the-middle-east-and-africa-why-is-the-sec-turning-a-blind-eye
Microsoft was once fined by the US government for paying bribes, so it's not like they would never do something like that. And while the whistleblower provides testimony & evidence of bribery in the Mid-East and Africa, those with experience dealing with local and state governments, and even federal agencies in the US know similar bribery schemes are far from unheard of. The schemes reported include paying for products never received, paying more for the products &/or services than necessary, and outright fraud, paying non-existent entities. The extra money is then shared by those immediately involved. Of course ordinary citizens like us are the ones who pay for this, through taxes and often inflated prices [that are already higher than needed] to cover the expense of bribes.