The bank HSBC has had ties with al Qaeda financers who assisted with 9/11 attack

[richardhutnik]

Kantor said:

Galaki said:
Fine the bank and then what?
Why not jail or execute the bankers involved and confiscate all the assets?
When rewards' much higher than the risk, it's going to keep happening.

This is equivalent to implementing the death penalty for shoplifting.

Yes, it discourages the crime. But it's extremely disproportionate.

Maybe I don't understand what the article is saying, but is providing services to one 9/11 hijacker the same as assisting with the 9/11 attack?

The bank had ties to financiers that assisted the terrorists who did 9/11.  

As for as comparing what people did being equivalent to shoplifting, the penalty is arguably to extreme, but the crime you said is far less severe than it what it was.  Do you consider what Madoff did merely shoplifting?  Wiping out life savings of people, tanking the economy causing people to go in a downward spiral is far beyond shoplifting.

Go look at the fallout.  If it wasn't so bad, there wouldn't be fallout.