HSBC fires employees for making mock ISIS execution video

A still from an HSBC video.
(Image credit: Twitter.com/Telegraph)

HSBC has fired several U.K. employees after video emerged online showing the group participating in a mock ISIS-style execution.

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The footage shows multiple employees wearing black outfits and balaclavas standing behind an Asian colleague wearing an orange jumpsuit, The Telegraph reports. One of the men in black appears to be holding a coat hanger, and another yells, "Allahu Akbar" — "God is Great" in Arabic — which ISIS executioners have said in their taped murders of hostages.

The Sun reports the video was filmed during a team-building exercise, and was briefly up on Instagram before being deleted. On Twitter, HSBC's UK Press Office wrote, "Once we saw this abhorrent video released by The Sun we took the decision to sack the individuals involved. We apologize for any offence."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.