617 bribe reports, 253 cities: What bribes.fyi data says about corruption in India
Screenshot of the website Photograph: (bribes.fyi)
Bribes.fyi records 617 alleged bribe reports across 253 Indian cities, with police cases leading and Karnataka reporting the highest number
A new website, bribes.fyi, has emerged as a crowdsourced platform where people can anonymously report instances in which they were allegedly asked to pay bribes. Users can submit details including the amount demanded, the department involved and the role of the official concerned. The website describes itself as India’s first crowdsourced bribe registry that is completely anonymous and permanently public. The platform organises the reported information into three main sections: reports, departments and cities. It also allows users to compare reported bribe cases across departments, offering an overview of complaints submitted through the platform.
Departments listed on the website include the police, RTO, revenue/land records, passport office, municipal corporation, GST Office, electricity board, income tax, and food and drug administration.
Latest bribe report on Bribes.fyi
One of the latest reports listed on the website involved an alleged bribe demand of ₹2,000 from the Police Department in Pune. The person who submitted the report alleged they were asked to pay the amount and wrote: “Was told to take ‘tatkal’ route which costs 2500 to avoid multiple visits and unnecessary delays.”
Bribe data: 617 reports across 253 cities
According to data available on Bribes.fyi, 617 bribe reports have been submitted from 253 cities. The website also states that 37% of people who reported being asked for a bribe refused to pay but still got their work done. Among the departments listed, the Police has the highest number of reported cases at 336. It is followed by the RTO with 89 cases, Revenue/Land Records with 69, the Passport Office with 43, and the Municipal Corporation with 29 cases.
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Karnataka reports highest number of alleged bribe cases
Among the states and Union Territories listed on the platform, Karnataka has the highest number of reported bribe cases, with 135 reports. It is followed by Maharashtra with 83 reports and Uttar Pradesh with 69. Delhi has recorded 47 reports, while Telangana and Haryana have 36 and 34 reports, respectively. West Bengal accounts for 32 reports, followed by Tamil Nadu with 27. Andhra Pradesh and Bihar have recorded 26 reports each.
Jammu & Kashmir has highest average bribe amount
The data shows that Jammu & Kashmir has the highest average reported bribe amount at ₹19,067, based on six reports. Chhattisgarh ranks second, with an average of ₹13,000 across two reports, while Maharashtra has an average reported bribe amount of ₹10,238 across 83 reports.
Assam records highest refusal rate
According to the website, Assam has the highest refusal rate among the listed states and Union Territories, at 100%. However, this figure is based on just one report, and no average bribe amount is listed for the state. Goa and Uttarakhand follow with refusal rates of 33% each, based on three reports from each state. Andhra Pradesh has a refusal rate of 23% across 26 reports, followed by Rajasthan at 18% from 17 reports. The figures and data mentioned above are based on information available on the website as of August 17. Hindustan Times could not independently verify the numbers.
