in the pay of
(derogatory) Employed by (someone), often secretly.
The corporatist-economic model of society appears to be governing us. Economists, often in the pay of transnationals, are deciding, for us, what democracy is, and will be. B. W. Powe
Should Saddam be considered a condottiere, once in the pay of the U. S. government and then rebellious against his former masters? When war constitutes the global order and when the generals become the highest magistrates, we cannot but expect such developments. Saddam Hussein