Ex-Binance employee sues exchange after whistleblower bribery claim

• Amrita Srivastava alleges she was dismissed from Binance a month after she informed managers about the bribery in April 2023
• Lawyers for Binance claim Srivastava was dismissed due to “poor performance”

A former senior executive at Binance has filed a lawsuit against the company’s UK section for unfair dismissal after raising concerns about an alleged bribe.

Amrita Srivastava said that she was unfairly dismissed after bringing the matter to management. According to Srivastava, a colleague had solicited bribes from a customer “under the guise of providing consultative services,” reports Bloomberg.

Srivastava alleges that she was dismissed from her position at Binance a month after she told her managers about the bribery in April 2023. However, according to Binance’s lawyer, Srivastava was dismissed due to “poor performance.”

In a statement, the 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.”

According to Bloomberg, the colleague in question has since left the company. In a witness statement, Srivastava said that she “was not prepared to look the other way when someone had defrauded a customer and yet was still a part of the team.”

This is the latest lawsuit against Binance. Last June, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance for violating US securities laws by offering services to high-valued US customers on its platform.

In November 2023, the US Department of Justice sought more than $4 billion from Binance – after Binance’s former CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to money laundering charges – to settle the criminal investigation against it.

As part of the DOJ settlement, Zhao resigned from his position. He later stepped down as Chair of the Board of Directors.

Zhao was later sentenced to four months in prison, which he has since served.