That’s a misleading headline.
Operation Payback was originally devised to counterattack anti-piracy organizations that had been attacking file sharing sites, and in some cases engaging in illegal activities to do so.
But then, after Wikileaks released information that embarrassed governments, those government ordered banks and online merchant services to block Wikileaks from receiving donations from its supporters by canceling its accounts.
So Operation Payback turned to attacking these banks, credit card companies, PayPal, etc., for bowing to these governments though they were not required to do so.
Put them in jail working at minimum wage until the £3.5million is repaid.