“I was not willing to turn a blind eye to bribery and fraud, as these are clear ethical violations,” Srivastava said in her statement.
A former senior executive at Binance Amrita Srivastava has accused the crypto trading giant of unfair dismissal after she exposed an alleged bribery scheme within the company, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing her speech at the tribunal.
According to the report, Srivastava, who held a prominent position at Binance’s Link platform, an initiative designed to connect external brokers and customers to the exchange, claims her termination in May 2023 was a direct retaliation for whistleblowing on unethical practices involving a colleague.
Binance Faces Allegations of Bribery
Srivastava said the bribery incident involved a colleague who accepted money from a customer under the pretext of “consultative services”. The payment, she alleges, was intended to expedite the customer’s integration into Binance’s ecosystem.
According to her, the situation was more troubling because the unnamed colleague failed to disclose their relationship with Binance while engaging in the scheme. After observing the incident, Srivastava reported the matter to her managers in April 2023, confident that the company would address the matter appropriately.
However, just a month later, she was dismissed. She believes her decision to speak out about the bribery was the real reason behind her termination, though Binance claims her departure was due to performance issues.
The former Binance employee said she reported the issue to senior management because she refused to ignore wrongdoing and unethical practices.
“I was not prepared to look the other way when someone had defrauded a customer,” she said. “Bribery and fraud are not gray areas — they are unequivocally wrong.”
A Chaotic Work Environment
Beyond the bribery allegations, Srivastava described her time at Binance as chaotic and high-pressure. She joined the company in April 2022 after working at Mastercard, bringing with her a belief that Binance’s management aimed to improve its compliance framework.
However, she said she quickly discovered a lack of structure and accountability, with employees under immense pressure to deliver revenue-driven results.
At the Link platform, where Srivastava worked, there was a significant focus on recovering lost revenue after the company identified links between a major customer and Iran, further amplifying internal stress.
Career Damage and Whistleblower Protections
Srivastava is seeking compensation for whistleblowing and unfair dismissal, which can result in significant financial awards in the UK. She expressed concerns about the long-term damage to her career, noting that her experience at Binance had tarnished her professional reputation.
“My experience has been personally and professionally damaging, and it’s something I will have to work hard to overcome in the years ahead,” she said.
In response, Binance denied any link between Srivastava’s whistleblowing and her dismissal. The company claimed it was aware of the bribery allegations and initiated an internal investigation before Srivastava raised her concerns.
“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,” Binance said.
The exchange emphasized its commitment to maintaining ethical standards and pointed out its culture of “weeding out under-performers”.
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