How to repent from paying a bribe, and whether repentance is accepted if it is sincere, and also what to do with the money, given that hired workers were taken from this bribe?

Question:
How to repent from paying a bribe, and whether repentance is accepted if it is sincere, and also what to do with the money, given that hired workers were taken from this bribe?

Answer:
Answer: Bribery is a corrupt and evil earning. Cursed is the one who pays it, cursed is the one who takes it, and cursed is the one who acts as an intermediary in it. This is in the authentic hadith, in the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Cursed is the one who pays the bribe, the one who takes the bribe, and the one who acts as an intermediary between them.” The intermediary is the one who facilitates the transaction between them. All of them are cursed. The curse implies that this act is a major crime, and a major one among the major sins. Thus, taking a bribe is a major sin among the major sins. Whoever falls into it must repent from it. The money he has that he took through bribery, he must dispose of it by placing it with the poor and the needy, on the basis that it is a means of disposal, not as charity. It is like lost property that has no owner, and he places it in general public interests, and puts it in the hands of the needy, the poor, and the destitute, along with repentance to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).