slush funds
Hidden bribery reserves
A slush fund is money set aside for discretionary or illicit purposes, typically kept off official books.
The term implies secrecy and potential corruption: The company maintained a slush fund for bribing officials.
Originally nautical slang for money sailors made selling grease, it now describes any hidden reserve used for questionable expenses or political payoffs.
- bribesPayments for corrupt favors
- brown envelopesPaper sleeves for secret payments
- inducementsThings offered to persuade
- kickbacksIllegal return payments
- moneyCurrency for transactions
dirty money · black money · grafts · shell companies · off-the-books · secret stash · corruption · under-the-table · embezzlement · money laundering · offshore accounts · reserves · illicit payments · misappropriation · quid pro quo · pay to play · payoffs · influence peddling
- wrongdoingmisconduct, crime, sabotage, crimes, misbehavior
- corruptioncorruption, graft, kickbacks, bribery, bribes
- corporate crimescorporate fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, price fixing, embezzlement
- financial crimesbank fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, tax fraud, insurance fraud
- financial fraudsecurities fraud, bank fraud, accounting fraud, defalcation, embezzler
- fiscal abusegraft, kickbacks, misappropriation, waste, bid rigging
slush, fund, funds, slushy, slushiness, slushed, funded, funding, funder