Maharaja Agrasen engineering student’s anti-corruption site Bribes.fyi gets 50 lakh requests in 48 hours, now shuts down

Anti-corruption platform Bribes.fyi has announced an indefinite shutdown after a sudden surge in traffic overwhelmed the website. The platform, which allowed people to anonymously report alleged demands for bribes, received more than five million requests and nearly 200,000 new users in just 48 hours. Maharaja Agrasen engineering college student Aryan Nishad and site developers said they had no plans to reopen submissions, citing concerns over handling the volume of data safely. “Thanks for all the feedback and insights - we are taking an indefinite break and have no plans to enable the submissions again,” read a statement on the website.


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The decision came after the platform gained widespread attention for collecting public reports of alleged bribery across government departments.

Why did Bribes.fyi shut down?

The developers said the platform was not designed to handle the scale of attention it received. They also raised concerns about becoming custodians of a large volume of sensitive public information.

“What we did not build was the infrastructure to carry that kind of attention safely, and once it arrived, the honest answer was that we were not the right custodians for it at that scale. Shutting it down was our decision. It was always meant to send a signal, not point fingers. I think the signal was sent.”

Manish Sahani, a tech professional at Amazon who worked on the product and strategy side of the platform, also announced the decision on LinkedIn. The website was developed by engineering student Aryan Nishad.

“We have decided to shut it down to prevent any misuse of the platform. Thanks for support!” Sahani wrote.

Nishad, meanwhile, sought assistance from lawyers and chartered accountants following the sudden attention around the platform.

Users question the decision

The shutdown triggered a debate among social media users, with some arguing that the platform could have continued with stronger privacy safeguards, decentralised systems and legal oversight.

“If scale and misuse are the reasons for you to shut it down, it's really unfortunate. Those problems can be solved,” one user said.

Another user highlighted the legal and privacy challenges involved in collecting allegations against government departments.

“A great initiative, but since the platform collects public reports about alleged bribery, privacy and legal governance should be built in from day one.”

A third user questioned why the platform was discontinued so quickly despite the interest it had generated.

“At this point, I'm just confused. It had such great potential, especially because it was solving a real and significant problem in India. Stopping it so suddenly seems strange.”

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Another suggested that the platform should be made decentralised and transparent, while calling for support from anti-corruption authorities.

“I'd suggest keep it decentralised and transparent so that no official can forcefully take it down. It's a great initiative and the anti-corruption bureau should support this.

What was Bribes.fyi?

Bribes.fyi was created as a platform for people to anonymously share information about alleged demands for bribes. Users could submit details such as the department involved, the amount allegedly demanded and the role of the person involved.

The platform also allowed visitors to compare reports across government departments, giving users a broad view of the complaints submitted through the website.

Departments listed on the platform included the Police, RTO, Revenue/Land Records, Passport Office, Municipal Corporation, GST Office, Electricity Board, Income Tax, and Food and Drug Administration.

For now, however, the platform's reporting system remains closed, with its developers saying they have no plans to restart submissions.