No penalty is not the same thing as a lower penalty. You don't go around saying people got a lower penalty that were never actually prosecuted for something. Y

No penalty is not the same thing as a lower penalty. You don't go around saying people got a lower penalty that were never actually prosecuted for something. You claim the parent is speculating without basis but the parent is asking for an example where a normal penalty is lower than the profit, because that is an extraordinary claim. If hsbc was able to profit from money laundering while paying they penalty, they would still be doing it. They obviously had no moral barriers to doing it before so why would they stop?