I was going to say insider trading. An easy way to pay someone off is to simply tell them to buy such and such a stock at such and such a time and before you know it - laughing. You don't even need to do this multiple times either, just the right stock at the right time. And that in itself doesn't have to be half as complex as some may think either. If you're a political figure pushing for 'green' technology you can pretty much pick and choose the path yourself.