Bad Boy Billionaires: India - Netflix releases final episode on Satyam Scandal after 5-year legal battle

Bad Boy Billionaires: India has finally concluded after a five-year legal battle with the official release of its fourth and last episode by streaming behemoth Netflix. Riding the Tiger is the title of the new episode that debuted today for viewers all around the world and centres on Satyam Computer Services founder B. Ramalinga Raju.

Five-year legal standoff

Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Subrata Roy were the subjects of investigative profiles in the first season of the anthology series, which debuted in October 2020. Nevertheless, a legal challenge halted the distribution of the Raju portion. A Hyderabad civil court granted an interim stay order in September 2020 after Raju pleaded that the documentary included "half-truths" that would damage his reputation and affect his ongoing legal appeals.

Riding the Tiger is a reference to a phrase that Raju used in his confession letter from 2009. The widening gap between Satyam's claimed and actual profitability was something he likened to "riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten."

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Inside India's Enron scandal

The Satyam scandal—often called "India's Enron"—is thoroughly examined in the documentary. The documentary tracks the rise of the IT corporation from its inception in 1987 to its current status as a worldwide outsourcing giant. After Raju confessed to overstating the company's cash and bank balances by over $1.5 billion (about ₹7,000 crore) in 2009, the storyline changed to focus on the aftermath.

Law experts think the episode will air after court barriers are cleared or the first injunctions that blocked its transmission expire. Netflix had argued in various court filings that the series was based on public records and journalistic investigation, asserting that halting the release infringed upon the right to free speech.

Expert insights

In this 55-minute episode, we hear from investigative journalists, those who worked for Satyam in the past, and financial experts who were there when the Hyderabad-based company went bankrupt. In it, we learn about the auditors' failure to notice the fraud for years and how Tech Mahindra bought out the company, renamed it Mahindra Satyam, and eventually merged with it.

The release of Riding the Tiger signifies the finality of the Bad Boy Billionaires collection. This series chronicles the dramatic decline of some of India's most prominent business figures over the past two decades, illuminating the ramifications of inadequate corporate governance. Netflix has not yet made any official comments on the specific court victory that permitted today's release.

Bad Boy Billionaires: India FAQs:

Q: Who is the fourth billionaire in Bad Boy Billionaires: India?

A: The fourth billionaire is B. Ramalinga Raju, the founder and former chairman of Satyam Computer Services. While the series originally premiered in 2020 with episodes on Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Subrata Roy, the episode focusing on Raju’s role in the Satyam scandal was withheld for years due to legal injunctions.

Q: Why was the Satyam episode of Bad Boy Billionaires delayed?

A: The episode was delayed because B. Ramalinga Raju filed a petition in a Hyderabad civil court in 2020. He alleged that the documentary contained "half-truths" that would tarnish his reputation and potentially prejudice his ongoing legal appeals.

Q: What is the meaning of the episode title "Riding the Tiger"?

A: The title refers to a famous line from Raju's 2009 confession letter. He described the mounting financial fraud at Satyam as "riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten."

Q: Is the Bad Boy Billionaires episode on Ramalinga Raju out now?

A: Yes. As of December 31, 2025, Netflix has officially released the final episode, titled "Riding the Tiger," to global audiences.