Former Binance Executive Claims Retaliation Over Whistleblowing
By: Isha Das
A former senior executive at Binance, Amrita Srivastava, has filed a whistleblower claim against the world-leading cryptocurrency exchange, accusing the company of firing her in retaliation for raising concerns about a bribery scheme involving a colleague. According to reports, Srivastava was dismissed shortly after she reported that a colleague solicited a bribe from a customer in exchange for expedited integration services. Allegedly, these payments were falsely labeled as 'consultative services' and were conducted while the colleague maintained a form of separation from Binance.
Srivastava, who joined Binance in April 2022, outlined her concerns during a tribunal hearing. Coming from a background in managing fintech for Western Europe at Mastercard, she believed in Binance's compliance efforts, but soon described the working environment as chaotic. She faced relentless pressure to close deals, further exacerbated by losing significant revenue due to a client with potential links to Iran. She claims this pressured climate made ethical standards hard to uphold.
The former executive reported the bribery incident in April 2023 and faced termination a month later, with Binance stating the reason as "poor performance." However, Srivastava asserts it was directly due to her whistleblowing. A lawyer for Binance claimed her termination was decided before her reporting, and the bribery in question was already under investigation internally. Under UK law, the whistleblowing claim could potentially lead to significant financial implications for Binance, as such awards are uncapped.
Srivastava describes her experience with the company as damaging to her professional reputation—a challenge she anticipates will take years to repair. She quoted during the tribunal, "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." As the case progresses, it brings to light significant issues of ethics and employee treatment within major corporate entities in the cryptocurrency world.
