In recent Binance news, a former senior executive at Binance has filed a lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange, claiming wrongful dismissal. Amrita Srivastava, a London-based former employee, alleges she was fired after raising concerns about a bribery scheme within the company.
Srivastava, who worked on Binance’s Link platform, reported a colleague soliciting a bribe from a customer to expedite their platform integration.
Binance disputes the claims, maintaining that Srivastava’s dismissal was due to poor performance. However, the case has shed light on Binance’s internal pressures, especially following previous legal and regulatory challenges.
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The lawsuit’s outcome could further impact the company’s reputation as it faces ongoing global legal battles.
Binance News: Retaliation in Whistleblower Lawsuit Denied
In her tribunal, Srivastava described a behavior she repeated in her employment—soliciting a bribe from a customer.
The bribe was solicited under the guise that the customer would receive consultancy services to fast-track their integration. However, it was allegedly intended to be paid in the form of a bribe.
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Srivastava further stated that her colleague on the banked list also covered for Binance while arranging the bribe. And that she has since left the company.
Binance news reported in April 2023, Srivastava reported the bribery incident to her superiors. She says she was fired a month later in retaliation for blowing the whistle. Just days before her firing, she attempted to raise concern for the unethical behavior. She alleges she was told it did not exist.
Before the bribery complaint, the company said her termination was not connected to whistleblowing. Rather, it was about poor performance, a reason that reportedly was documented in advance. “Our internal audit team has already escalated, and it is under review,” Binance’s spokesperson said.
Legal Troubles Mount for Binance Amid Lawsuit
Apart from Srivastava’s suit, Binance faces a string of legal challenges. In November 2023, the company pleaded guilty under U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.
The incident discussed by Srivastava points to pressure on Binance’s Link unit from the inside. This unit brokers use to connect with the exchange. Srivastava says parts of this pressure were driven by a revenue gap in the unit.
When it was uncovered that a fourth of the unit’s revenues relied on a customer who had connections to Iran, Binance deemed it a major issue and began to target replacing that revenue stream.
Srivastava describes a chaotic work environment at Binance. Indeed, she argues that intense pressure to close deals quickly and achieve financial targets could have led to unethical behaviour.
‘But some things are right, and some things are wrong,’ Srivastava says, refusing to ignore the bribery incident.
However, by saddling Binance with substantial liability, the employment tribunal could damage the company, which faces a number of legal problems.
If Binance has been found to have been wrongfully dismissed or retaliated against a whistleblower, it would be a costly case for Binance, since whistleblowing lawsuits in the UK are normally uncapped.
However, even compensation for unfair dismissal of £105,700 is puny compared to the severity of damaging a reputation, an effect which can be much more permanent on a company.
