My Spanish translator and I are trying to find a good, neutral Latin American translation for "kickbacks." In Mexico, I translate it "moche." She identifies "coimas" as more widespread. If you live in a Spanish-speaking country in Latin America, please tell me how this term is usually translated where you live. For clarity, an example: a kickback is employed when a public servant (or firm employee) receives a percentage of a contract's value, in exchange for assigning the contract to the firm that pays the kickback.
The formal concept in Colombia is "soborno" , and the informal and popular way to know it is "serrucho". We also say "CVY" which means "Como Voy Yo"
In Cuba, the correct meaning of this English word is "soborno"
Chile:
Formal: Soborno.
Less formal: Coima.
However, both concepts tend to describe general actions in which an individual tend to "jump" the correct form of decision-making, privileging someone that paid for be benefited for that. Example: A politician that received "sobornos" for accepting a particular law....or a driver that "soborna" a police officer avoiding a fine. The best translation in English for this concept is "bribe", If you are trying to explain a particular type of bribe (like the one in your example), we do not have a particular concept.
Pablo is correct
Formal: Soborno.
Less formal: Coima.
But I think any discussion of corruption which is what we are talking about starts from establishing the high level operation of this phenomenon in Brasil for example and the local 'low level' supplementing of the salary by low paid civil servants. They are qualitatively different socially, morally and politically.