I read that during the cold war, a common exploit was people fearing massive penalties from their own governments over small issues. E.g., some accounting error that would get them imprisoned. So the US would walk in with a few thousand $$ equivalent and have a really well positioned source that just wanted to survive some basic screw-up.

It's a good lesson in how ratcheting up punishments can be counterproductive, even or especially even, in critical areas.