Hiring friends with grant money?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

Is it permissible to use your grant money to hire friends who are not experts in the funded area (though still can contribute) to support them financially? Thanks in advance!

Another reader immediately submitted the following reply:

That is unethical and in some places it is illegal. Don't do it

I'm not sure there is much more to say here. Although I've heard anecdotally that nepotism may be common in certain places, it's widely considered to be an unethical practice and I definitely wouldn't want to run the risk of getting in serious institutional or legal trouble for misusing grant money. But these are just my thoughts. What are yours?

Comments

[Please, no]

Nepotistic, unethical, almost certainly against university regulations, and in many places illegal.

[Jake]

At least in Europe it is a common practice to hire your friends with external money. Not sure if it happens if they do not know anything on the topic but usually externally funded positions are practically filled already when (or if) there is a official recruitment. Professors for example hire their former students for their projects even though the former students are not the most qualified for the job.

[Good to know]

Thanks for the comments! OP here. I am surprised to hear that the opinions are firmly against it. But in any case it is good to learn. I initially thought that this is a grey area, and it is totally up to the grant winner to decide who they hire as long as the hired person follows the regulations (if any) and do some work on the project.