[teekert]

It's legal to lie about paying the extortioners?

[Scoundreller]

At worst, it’s breach of contract. At best, it makes the accounting and legal checks on your supplier very easy.

$10k to Bob’s IT consultancy within the same state is a lot easier than $10k that ultimately leads to a country that may be embargoed.

[usrusr]

> easier than $10k that ultimately leads to a country that may be embargoed

In which case the middleman/coconspirator would add one more, completely unrelated crime to their list.