Whistleblower Lawsuit Accuses Binance of Bribery and Retaliation

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As a seasoned researcher with years of experience under my belt, I find myself increasingly intrigued by the seemingly endless string of legal troubles that Binance appears to be entangled in. The latest allegations, made by former senior employee Amrita Srivastava, are particularly troubling as they involve claims of bribery and retaliation against whistleblowers – issues that should never be tolerated in any organization, let alone one as prominent as Binance.

As an analyst, I’m sharing some insights based on recent reports. A high-ranking ex-employee of Binance has filed a whistleblower complaint in the UK court system. The complaint alleges that a fellow employee requested a bribe from one of their customers, offering preferential treatment as the incentive.

Amrita Srivastava asserts that she was unjustly dismissed from her remote position at Binance’s Link platform following her report of suspected misbehavior.

Legal Troubles Continue for Binance

Reports from Bloomberg suggest that these accusations surfaced during a court hearing earlier this week. Srivastava claims his coworker received payments, ostensibly for consulting work.

The employee would secretly take bribes to register new customers into the exchange. She further alleged that the individual concealed their affiliation with Binance and has since left the company.

Despite reporting bribery to her superiors in April 2023, Srivastava was let go the very next month.

Currently, she’s taking legal action against Binance Europe Ltd., claiming it was a form of retribution after voicing worries regarding a specific event. Earlier this year, the platform also faced similar accusations from another worker concerning the same matter.

Amrita Srivastava, a previous senior employee at Binance, is filing a lawsuit against Binance’s UK division, alleging she was terminated for exposing a bribery case. She claims that an individual within Binance accepted a bribe disguised as “consulting,” and she chose to take action against it. After reporting the incident, she was dismissed one month later, citing “poor performance” as the reason, according to Mario Nawfal’s post on X (formerly Twitter).

Simultaneously, Binance’s legal representatives contended that the company had previously known about the alleged bribery issue. Yet, they emphasized that Srivastava’s termination was primarily due to subpar job performance. The legal team highlighted a common practice within the company of dealing with underperforming employees as the reason for this action.

At another court hearing, Binance is facing yet another legal issue that has been accumulating since November 2023. Previously, the exchange admitted to breaching U.S. anti-money laundering regulations, which resulted in a historic fine of $4.3 billion and the stepping down of Changpeng Zhao (CZ) from his position as CEO.

Concurrently, CZ and Binance are involved in a distinct legal action initiated by the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The complaint, filed recently, alleges that Sam Bankman-Fried illegally moved approximately $1.8 billion worth of assets to both CZ’s platform and his own.

Lately, CZ has completed a four-month term in prison due to breaches of U.S. money laundering regulations. He regained his freedom in September, yet he is still dealing with numerous other legal disputes.

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2024-11-29 00:31