Who Is Anurag Bajpayee? Indian-Origin CEO Arrested Over Luxury Brothel Scandal In US
He was included in several names in Boston-area court documents, charged with paying high hourly rates for sex services earlier in 2025.
Anurag Bajpayee, the Indian-origin CEO of Gradiant, a clean water startup, has been detained in the United States over allegations of engaging with high-end brothels. According to the New York Post, Mr Bajpayee was listed among numerous individuals in Boston-area court documents, accused of paying substantial hourly rates for sex services earlier in 2025.
Prosecutors said that Mr Bajpayee was part of a high-end circle of clients, made up of doctors, lawyers, government officials, and government contractors. The investigation revealed that these men allegedly paid up to $600 an hour for encounters with primarily Asian women, who were reportedly trapped in sex trafficking.
Regardless of calls for him to resign made by some employees, his business firm, Gradiant, defended him with a statement demonstrating its faith in the justice system and reasserting its loyalty to its goals.
“We have faith in the justice system and are sure that this will turn in our favor in due time. Irrespective of this, Gradiant will continue to strive for excellence in technological innovation and towards our goal of providing clean water to all society,” the company posted in a statement.
Who is Anurag Bajpayee?
Anurag Bajpayee is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gradiant, a Boston-headquartered company that specializes in cutting-edge water and wastewater treatment solutions. Born in India, Mr Bajpayee has become a leading figure in the cleantech sector, guiding Gradiant from its early days as a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) spinout in 2013 to a global leader worth over $1 billion.
With his stewardship, the firm serves major water challenges to industries like semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, mining, and food and beverage, operating in over 25 countries and over 2,500 facilities.
Bajpayee’s educational background started at La Martiniere College in Lucknow, and he later graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2006. He further went on to pursue higher degrees at MIT, where he graduated with a Master of Science in 2008 and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2012. His doctoral work involved industrial desalination and water treatment, particularly the development of a membrane-free desalination method that was identified by Scientific American as one of the “Top 10 World-Changing Ideas.”
