Binance Faces Whistleblowing Lawsuit Concerning Bribery From Former Exec

An ex-Binance executive has filed a whistleblowing lawsuit against the exchange for allegations of bribery.

Amrita Srivastava filed the lawsuit in the UK, claiming unfair dismissal after raising concerns about bribery within the firm. Srivastava, who worked on Binance's Link platform since April 2022, testified that a colleague solicited money from a customer “under the guise of providing consultative services.” 

At an employment tribunal, Srivastava explained that the bribe was intended to fast-track the customer’s integration into Binance. The colleague concealed his association with Binance and has since left the firm.

Srivastava claimed she reported the issue to her managers in April 2023 but was dismissed the following month. She believes her termination was retaliatory.

Binance's legal representatives claim her termination was not related to bribery concerns and was due to poor performance. The exchange revealed that the bribery allegations were already under internal investigation before Srivastava.

“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.

Srivastava joined Binance after serving as head of fintech coverage at MasterCard for Western Europe. Initially, she believed Binance's management “aimed to get their compliance in order" but the working environment became increasingly "chaotic."

At the Link unit, she said “the pressure was on for deals to be delivered” as Binance was keen to fill the “revenue gap” in Link’s revenue, which had previously come from a customer with ties to Iran. Srivastava explained that the customer who regularly travelled through the UK revealed he had given money 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.

Whistleblowing awards in the UK are uncapped, while compensation for unfair dismissal is limited to £105,700 ($134,340).

Earlier this month, Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, returned to the public eye after a significant legal and personal ordeal.

The billionaire crypto mogul, known to most as "CZ," emerged from U.S. federal prison in April after a four-month stint following a legal settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice that included a $4.3 billion dollar fine.