A whistleblowing lawsuit has been lodged against the exchange by an ex-Binance executive in response to bribery allegations.
The lawsuit was filed by Amrita Srivastava in the United Kingdom, where she claimed that she was unfairly dismissed after raising concerns about bribery within the firm. Srivastava, who has been employed on Binance’s Link platform since April 2022, testified that a colleague requested money from a consumer “under the guise of providing consultative services.”
Amrita Srivastava on Bribery Allegations
Srivastava clarified at an employment tribunal that the gratuity was intended to expedite the customer’s integration into Binance. The collaborator has since departed the company and has concealed his affiliation with Binance.
Srivastava asserted that she informed her supervisors of the matter in April 2023; however, she was terminated the subsequent month. She is of the opinion that her termination was motivated by retribution.
Binance’s legal representatives maintain that her termination was not precipitated by allegations of extortion, but rather by inadequate performance. The exchange disclosed that the allegations of bribery were already under internal investigation prior to Srivastava’s arrival.
“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 statement.
After serving as the chief of fintech coverage for Western Europe at MasterCard, Srivastava joined Binance. Initially, she was under the impression that Binance’s management was motivated by the desire to ensure compliance; however, the work environment became increasingly “chaotic.”
At the Link unit, she stated that “the pressure was on to deliver deals” as Binance was eager to address the “revenue gap” in Link’s revenue, which had previously been sourced from a customer with connections to Iran. Srivastava clarified that the customer, who frequently traveled to the United Kingdom, disclosed that he had provided funds to her colleague.
“I was not prepared to look the other way when someone had defrauded a customer and yet was still a part of the team – some things are just right and wrong, and asking for a bribe and defrauding a customer was not a gray area – it is most definitely wrong,” Srivastava said in a witness statement.
“My experience at Binance has been personally damaging to my career, an impact I will continue to have to undo over the next few years,” Srivastava said in a filing for the hearing.
In the United Kingdom, whistleblowing awards are not subject to a quota, whereas compensation for unfair dismissal is restricted to £105,700 ($134,340).
After a significant legal and personal ordeal, Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, returned to the public glare earlier this month.
Following a legal compromise with the U.S. Department of Justice that included a $4.3 billion fine, the billionaire crypto mogul, who is best known as “CZ,” was released from U.S. federal prison in April after a four-month sentence.
