Legally they are not the same, but culturally... We are often surprised to see the corruption in other countries, and yet to them paying a government official

Legally they are not the same, but culturally... We are often surprised to see the corruption in other countries, and yet to them paying a government official "To Insure Promptness" is completely normal. Same thing here: it seems normal to pay someone -who is employed by someone else- to do some various tasks.