Remember that occasionally bank robbers hide in the roof and get in night when no one is around. Wasn't there a big jewel heist in London a few years back that happened like this and the safety deposit boxes were drilled open at night, nobody saw a thing. So therefore the perps if caught should get off with 1-2 year sentence since no one was physically confronted even though the heist was worth hundreds of millions?
That's the beauty of it.... a bank gets robbed but no money is lost because the money is insured anyway, not forgetting that it is just paper (now polymer) that costs bout as much as toilet paper to make....hence the attractiveness of gold.....and then remember that it's not like the banks aren't at all robbing us through the whole credit creation interest rate system.
Then we have corporate crime such as HIH the biggest corporate collapse in Australia's history....yes no weapons were used....but you can bet thousands of peoples lives were adversely affected ...who knows...these things lead to marriage and family breakups, suicides etc.... so I personally wouldn't judge that the bank robber is worse I think that they are as bad as each other.One uses a weapon and traumatises a few people, the other uses a less overt type of weapon and traumatises thousands?
HIH: The Inside Story Of Australia's Biggest Corporate Collapse
By Mark Westfield "the collapse affected the lives of most Australians directly ... [and] through the behaviour of other insurers who were then able to increase premiums or simply refuse to accept risks ... The failure of HIH caused widespread distress, loss, uncertainty and cost to the taxpayer. The repercussions will echo through the economy and community for years to come."
In the case of thieves and bank robbers the police exhaust every avenue to recover funds and proceeds of crime...not so if your in the corporate world. To receive just 2.5 years for illegal activities that led to HIH collapse shows us that an issue such as KBL conversions and rounding won't even register a blip on the radar at ASIC....KB who? Nothing to see here they'll say.
I'm personally more interested in the arrangement between the previous MD and the 30 mil plant his own company provided to KBL over budget and late...then needed a refurbished second hand pump later on because capacity was below par once the good ole MD had already flown the coop. Seriously?
KBL Price at posting:
0.2¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
