Amrita Srivastava, a former senior employee at Binance’s Link platform, has filed a lawsuit in the UK, accusing the crypto giant of bribery and wrongful termination.
Srivastava alleges that a colleague accepted bribes disguised as consulting fees to provide preferential treatment to customers and claims she was fired in May 2023 after reporting the misconduct in April.
Binance denies these claims, attributing Srivastava’s dismissal to poor performance. The company asserts it was already investigating the bribery allegations independently and says her termination was part of a broader strategy to address underperformance within the team.
The legal battle adds to Binance’s growing list of challenges. During a recent tribunal, Srivastava accused a former colleague of secretly accepting payments to onboard new customers. The implicated employee has since left the company.
This case comes as Binance navigates heightened scrutiny. In November 2023, the company admitted to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws, resulting in a record $4.3 billion penalty. Around the same time, Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) stepped down and served a four-month prison sentence for money laundering violations.
Binance also faces a lawsuit from FTX, which accuses CZ and Binance of receiving part of $1.8 billion in fraudulently transferred assets from Sam Bankman-Fried.
Srivastava’s case underscores ongoing concerns about Binance’s internal practices and governance. The outcome may influence the company’s efforts to rebuild trust in the crypto industry.
