That is an epic goat rope of a splice job. Completely illegal. In a nutshell - any splice outside of an enclosure is a hack. You can debate the semantics of safety if that's just bonding a ground or whatever but that is crappy work regardless.
ALL splices must be in an approved junction box.
2008 NEC®© 300.15 Boxes, Conduit Bodies, or Fittings — Where Required.
Where the wiring method is conduit, tubing, Type AC cable, Type MC cable, Type MI cable, nonmetallic-sheathed cable, or other cables, a box or conduit body shall be installed at each conductor splice point, outlet point, switch point, junction point, termination point, or pull point, unless otherwise permitted in 300.15(A) through (M).
300.15 Boxes, Conduit Bodies, or Fittings — Where Required.
Where the wiring method is conduit, tubing, Type AC cable, Type MC cable, Type MI cable, nonmetallic-sheathed cable, or other cables, a box or conduit body shall be installed at each conductor splice point, outlet point, switch point, junction point, termination point, or pull point, unless otherwise permitted in 300.15(A) through (M).
There is such thing as a "concealable splice" kit (made by AMP) but that is a topic for a separate thread.
I'm sure most of you are familiar with the term "code smell" - well this is an electrician's 'code smell'. :)
