Not talking about a conspiracy theory. But exactly what you are talking about. In Israel we call such stuff "Kombina": Kombina could be innocent, like asking a friend who works in a cell phone company to track down your stolen machine; or a more serious kombina, where someone is actually cheating other people in order to make money. If you are not playing, you are a loser. Many people are proud of their "Kombinot" and their peers love them too. I guess a similar way of thinking is in these positions of power. Wherever there is a buck to be made, people will do it. My point is only that some of these things are a little more "tricky". I am thinking of stuff like the Cum Ex affair in europe/Germany. It is not easy to grasp for people who cannot follow. It took me several attempts until I understood how they were doing it.Kombina is one of the most salient features of Israeli society. In order to survive in this country, one needs to fend for oneself, using all possible means: Contacts, resourcefulness and creative ideas. The noun Kombina, which entered Hebrew from the Spanish combinar via Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), seems to be a good combination between the three. To have a kombina somewhere means to have a scheme or a plan to get something, not always in the most straightforward way, with the use of connections.