Former Binance executive Amrita Srivastava has filed a lawsuit against Binance Europe Ltd, seeking whistleblower claims for reporting bribery.
A former senior employee has filed a whistleblowing lawsuit against Binance Holdings’ UK division, alleging unfair dismissal after reporting suspected misconduct involving bribery.
Ex-Employee Files Lawsuit Against Binance Europe
Amrita Srivastava, a London-based senior staff member, has taken Binance Europe Ltd to an employment tribunal, according to a November 28 report by Bloomberg.
Srivastava alleged that a colleague solicited a bribe from a customer in exchange for preferential treatment, which she reported to her managers. She claimed her employment was terminated shortly after raising the issue.
Srivastava also highlighted concerns that Binance was trying to address a “revenue gap” for its Link platform after identifying that a customer linked to Iran had previously contributed a quarter of the unit’s revenue.
She stated that the bribery involved a colleague who pretended not to work for Binance while offering “consultative services” to provide the customer with access to the platform. The colleague has since left the company.
Srivastava, who worked remotely on Binance’s Link platform, said she was dismissed in May 2023, a month after reporting the alleged bribery incident. Binance, however, maintained her termination was due to poor performance.
In a statement, Binance 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.” The company emphasized its commitment to filtering out underperformers.
Before joining Binance in April 2022, Srivastava was the head of fintech coverage for Western Europe at Mastercard Inc.
The UK’s employment tribunal system allows whistleblowers to claim unlimited compensation, although damages for unfair dismissal are capped at £105,700.
Ongoing Scrutiny and Legal Challenges in the US
Binance has faced heightened regulatory scrutiny in the US, particularly from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Recently, a district judge ruled that the sale of Binance’s BUSD and BNB tokens does not constitute securities, marking a partial victory for the exchange.
Meanwhile, the SEC has been granted permission to file a 70-page response to Binance’s motion to dismiss its lawsuit. The SEC contends that most crypto transactions, including secondary market sales, qualify as securities transactions.
The SEC’s response is due by December 4, with the lawsuit’s timeline extending into 2026 following a scheduling order issued last month.