A former Binance executive has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange in the UK, alleging that a colleague solicited a bribe from a customer in exchange for preferential treatment.
Amrita Srivastava, a senior employee based in London, claims she was “unfairly dismissed” after raising concerns about the alleged misconduct.
Srivastava’s Lawsuit Against Binance
In her tribunal hearing, Srivastava detailed how a co-worker purportedly accepted money “under the guise of providing consultative services” to expedite a customer’s integration into the Binance platform while “misleadingly suggesting” he was not affiliated with the company.
Srivastava, who worked remotely on Binance’s Link platform—designed to connect external brokers and customers to the exchange—filed her lawsuit against Binance Europe Ltd. She claims that after reporting the bribery in April 2023, she was dismissed just a month later.
Binance’s legal representation argued that the company was already aware of the incident and contended that her termination was due to alleged “poor performance,” not her whistleblowing.
“The decision to end her employment for poor performance pre-dated concerns she raised about an issue that was already known and under investigation by our internal audit team,” Binance said in a response to Bloomberg inquiries.
Former Executive Details Alleged Bribery Incident
Joining Binance in April 2022 after a tenure at Mastercard, where she led fintech coverage for Western Europe, Srivastava expressed hope for positive change within the organization.
However, Bloomberg reports that her experience at Binance was marred by what she described as a “chaotic” work environment, driven by pressure to deliver deals amid a revenue shortfall in the Link unit.
Srivastava also recounted a troubling encounter with a customer who informed her about the alleged bribery. “I was not prepared to look the other way when someone had defrauded a customer,” Srivastava stated. “Asking for a bribe and defrauding a customer was not a gray area – it is most definitely wrong.”
In court filings, Binance’s representatives maintained that the company had been actively addressing the bribery incident, asserting a culture of regularly addressing underperformance among staff.
In the UK, whistleblower awards at employment tribunals are unlimited, while unfair dismissal claims can reach up to £105,700, or approximately $133,000.
This case follows notable regulatory scrutiny of the exchange’s operations, particularly in the US, where it found itself in the eye of a regulatory enforcement approach by the country’s authorities.
In November 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, resulting in a significant $4.3 billion fine and the departure of its former CEO and co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who already served four months in prison.
At the time of writing, the exchange’s native token, Binance Coin (BNB), is trading at $651, up 3% in the 24-hour time frame. However, the token is still 9% below its all-time high of $717 set earlier this year.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com