His position is that the payments in any case did not constitute bribery but rather extortion by Government auditors.

Those payments, Mr. Merin said, constitute about 20 percent of the claim dollars spent by insurance companies.

United States officials say payments to families of violent militants constitute direct support for their cause and encourage others to join.

To some, the payment constitutes selling a baby, which is illegal under all statutes in all states.

In Ohio, the missed payment constituted one-tenth of 1 percent of the retirement fund's portfolio.

For many of the recipients, the payments constituted their sole income, and their removal from the program resulted in extreme hardship.

One could argue that the payment of the federal debt from the fund could constitute a modern variation on this Second Charge.

They claimed that payment of permanent damages would constitute full compensation for the servitude placed on the land.

The higher payments make women a more expensive option for the employer and thus constitute indirect discrimination.

But he said it was clear that the payments did not approach actual costs and thus constituted a hidden donation.