In a surprising turn of events, Binance has been dragged to court by one of its former employees. On November 28th, Bloomberg report mentions that a former executive of Binance Holdings filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange in the UK, alleging that a colleague had requested a bribe from a client in order to grant them special treatment.
The case comes at a time when Binance has been in legal trouble for multiple cases, making this lawsuit another set of legal troubles for the crypto platform.
Binance Executive Filed Case Over Being Fired After Highlighting Bribery Case
According to Bloomberg, Amrita Srivastava, a senior employee in London, claimed in an employment tribunal that she was wrongfully fired for voicing her concerns regarding the suspected bribery.
She said that while feigning to be unemployed, the colleague stole money “under the guise of providing consultative services” to expedite the client’s incorporation into Binance. Since then, the coworker has left the company.
According to court documents filed by Binance’s attorney, the company’s leadership had already become aware of the bribery episode and had escalated the situation. Underachievers were often weeded out of the company.
Binance Faces Long-List Of Legal Troubles
Today’s case is yet another bribery allegation that Binance has been facing. Previously, in November 2023, Binance admitted to breaking US anti-money laundering and sanctions rules and was fined a record $4.3 billion.
A civil forfeiture case had been filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to seize cryptocurrency in a Binance account valued at around $16 million.
An inquiry into potential illegal acts related to alleged bribery schemes involving FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, lasted for years before this action was taken.
The DOJ’s lawsuit stems from November 2021, when Bankman-Fried allegedly approved a $40 million Tether (USDT) payment using wallets owned by Alameda Research, FTX’s sister firm.
According to documents the DOJ filed on November 12, SBF planned to use the funds as a bribe to anonymous Chinese officials to help free $1 billion in cryptocurrency that Alameda owned but had been blocked from two Chinese digital asset exchanges.
Bribery Cases Rise In Crypto World
Bribery cases in the crypto world have been rising tremendously. Just previously, charges had been brought against 18 people and organizations for extensive Bitcoin market manipulation, fraud and alleged bribery.
In Boston, charges were unveiled against the executives of four cryptocurrency businesses, four cryptocurrency financial services companies (sometimes referred to as “market makers”), and staff members of those organizations.