Someone in the middle of this (for GSA or the State Department) probably got bribed for two or three million to let this deal go through. It ought to be investigated and explained in some detail.
“...got bribed for two or three million.”
Very well could be. Funny, but when you mention three million I was thinking (”Wait - it was only a difference of a few hundred thousand”). Obviously my mind was on home prices and not embassy prices! It’s crazy that in the government’s mind a few hundred million is nothing more than acceptable accounting errors.