HSBC has fired six members of its U.K. staff after they posted a video featuring an Islamic State-style mock execution, the bank confirmed to CNBC on Tuesday.
The 8-second video was obtained by The Sun newspaper before it was deleted from Instagram. The footage, which The Sun says was filmed on an HSBC team-building exercise at a go-kart track in Birmingham, shows five men dressed in black jumpsuits and balaclavas standing behind a man who was kneeling in an orange jumpsuit with his hands behind his back.
The group collectively shout "Allahu Akbar" - an Islamic phrase roughly translated as "God is the greatest" – before a member of the team brandishes a coat hanger over his head, according the video posted by The Sun.
"We do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour," the bank said in a statement sent to CNBC. "As soon as The Sun brought this video to our attention we took the decision to sack the individuals involved."
HSBC described the video as "abhorrent" and apologized for any offence caused. It would not provide any further information regarding the incident.
According to The Sun, the employees were thought to have been part of the bank's Birmingham legal team.