PHRASE 借新债还旧债;拆东墙补西墙 If you say that someone is robbing Peter to pay Paul, you mean that they are transferring money from one group of people or place to another, rather than providing extra money. 借新债还旧债;拆东墙补西墙 [disapproval]
Sometimes he was moving money from one account to another, robbing Peter to pay Paul.