Q&A: A Halakhic Question Regarding the Source of the Money
A Halakhic Question Regarding the Source of the Money
Question
Person "A" gave person "B" a loan without interest or index-linking.
Person "B" wants to repay part of the loan to person "A" through person "G," who owes money to person "B."
The problem is that person "A" knows that the source of the financial obligation between person "G" and person "B" is not kosher; that is, person "G" owes person "B" money because of a service that person "B" provided to person "G." For the sake of the example, the service is infringement of intellectual property, for example selling a copied book.
Is person "A" allowed to receive the money directly from person "G"?
If he already received it, what should he do?
Answer
In my opinion it is permitted. If G had paid B and B had then given the money to A, it is obvious that this would be permitted. So why do I need this roundabout distinction?
Beyond that, what prohibition is there on A? G is giving him money willingly on behalf of B, so why is it A's concern what is between B and G?
Thank you.
It’s not so obvious that it’s permitted. If person "A" knew that the bills he received from person "G" were literally stolen, would that also be permitted?
The difference here is that the money itself is not stolen, only the obligation underlying the money is, so to speak, "stolen." And in addition, I can quite directly trace the obligation to the stolen value that person "A" received.