An ex-Binance executive has filed a lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange in the UK, alleging wrongful dismissal after raising concerns about bribery within the organization.
The case provides a rare glimpse into Binance’s internal workings, which have faced mounting regulatory and legal scrutiny in recent years.
Binance Denies Lawsuit Allegations: Was an Ex-Binance Fired for Speaking Up?
According to a Bloomberg report, Amrita Srivastava, a London-based former senior employee, claimed at an employment tribunal that a colleague solicited a bribe from a customer under the guise of providing consultancy services.
The alleged bribe was purportedly intended to expedite the customer’s integration into Binance’s platform.
Srivastava asserted that the colleague concealed his affiliation with Binance while carrying out the act. The colleague has since left the company.
Srivastava, who worked on Binance’s Link platform, which connects external brokers and customers to the exchange, said she reported the bribery incident to managers in April 2023 and alleged she was unfairly dismissed a month later.
Binance, however, disputes these claims.
In a statement, the company asserted that Srivastava’s dismissal was due to poor performance, not her whistleblowing.
Binance’s lawyer said:
“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’s legal team maintained that the bribery issue had already been escalated and addressed internally before Srivastava raised her concerns.
Binance’s Legal Woes Continue Amid Bribery Allegations and Regulatory Pressure
In November 2023, the company pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, resulting in a $4.3 billion penalty.
Srivastava, who joined Binance in April 2022 after serving as Mastercard Inc.’s head of fintech coverage for Western Europe, described the working environment at Binance as increasingly “chaotic.”
She claimed there was significant pressure to close deals, particularly within the Link unit, which was facing revenue gaps.
This urgency followed the identification that approximately a quarter of Link’s revenue had come from a customer with ties to Iran.
This issue led Binance to prioritize replacing that revenue source.
In her witness statement, Srivastava recounted being informed by a customer about the bribery incident.
“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.”
Employment tribunal awards for whistleblowing cases in the UK are uncapped, although compensation for unfair dismissal is capped at £105,700.
Srivastava stated that her experience at Binance had caused significant damage to her career, which she anticipates will take years to repair.
Notably, Binance still remains under scrutiny from U.S. regulators, including the DOJ and SEC.
However, a partial victory came when a district judge ruled that BUSD and BNB sales are not securities.
Meanwhile, the SEC can file a 70-page response to Binance’s dismissal motion, due December 4. The case has been extended to 2026.
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