Every bribe is a two-sided transaction, in which where a vendor bribes a purchaser, there is someone on the vendor’s side of the transaction who is not making an illicit payment.

The statement is true because bribery schemes perpetrated by a vendor typically rely on internal deception to conceal the illicit payment. The bribe or kickback is often disguised on the vendor's books as a legitimate business expense, such as a "consulting fee," "commission," or an inflated cost of goods sold. An employee in the vendor's accounting or finance department may process the disbursement based on fraudulent but seemingly valid documentation provided by the perpetrator (e.g., a corrupt salesperson). This accounting employee is "on the vendor’s side of the transaction" and is instrumental in processing the payment, but they are an unwitting participant who lacks the criminal intent to make an illicit payment. Their role is exploited by the fraudster to move the funds.

The alternative, "False," is incorrect because it would presuppose that every individual on the vendor's side who is involved in processing the transaction is a knowing and willing participant in the bribery scheme. This contradicts the fundamental nature of concealment in most fraud schemes. Perpetrators typically go to great lengths to hide their actions from colleagues to avoid detection. A widespread conspiracy is significantly riskier and less common than a scheme where one or a few individuals deceive others within their own organization by exploiting internal control weaknesses.

1. ACFE. (2023). Fraud Examiners Manual, International Edition. Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. In Section 2: Corruption, the subsection "Kickback Schemes" explains the mechanics of these frauds. It details how vendors conceal illicit payments by disguising them as legitimate business expenses on their own books. This process inherently involves deceiving internal accounting personnel who process payments. For example, a payment to a shell company controlled by the bribee would be processed by an accounts payable clerk who believes it is for a legitimate service.

2. Albrecht, W. S., Albrecht, C. O., Albrecht, C. C., & Zimbelman, M. F. (2019). Fraud Examination (6th ed.). Cengage Learning. Chapter 10, "Corruption," describes how kickback payments are funneled through the paying company's normal disbursement system. This is achieved by creating fraudulent support documents (e.g., a fake invoice for services never rendered) to deceive the accounts payable department into issuing a payment, making the accounting clerks unwitting facilitators of the fraud.

3. Singleton, T. W., & Singleton, A. J. (2010). Fraud Auditing and Forensic Accounting (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons. Chapter 4, "Corruption," discusses how illegal payments are hidden within the briber's financial records. The text explains that bribes are often recorded in legitimate-looking expense accounts (e.g., miscellaneous expenses, consulting fees) to pass through the internal control system. This method relies on the fact that the personnel responsible for recording and processing the transaction are unaware of its corrupt purpose.