Journalists Detained in China for Extortion Scam

Authorities in China detained journalists belonging to a financial news site for extorting money from  companies in return for favorable coverage.

The journalists were from the 21st Century Business Herald website and two sister public relations companies.

They include the CEOs of Shanghai-based PR firm Roya Investment Services and Shenzhen-based Nukirin.

The group is owned by Guangdong Nanfang Media, which in turn is owned by the Guangdong provincial government, according to the Agence France Press.

Most companies targeted by the media men were on the verge of going public, hence vulnerable to positive press coverage, reports the Xinhua.

The companies were famous enterprises from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong that were planning to go public, restructuring or making a business transition, reports Xinhua.

The journalists gave a positive spin to all news reports concerning the companies and concealed any negative aspects in return for huge payments and those who desisted were blackmailed with threats of bad coverage, reports the BBC.

A brief statement by 21st Century confirmed that several of its senior staff members had been detained by authorities for investigation last week, Wednesday.

"21st Century is willingly co-operating with authorities in their investigations. While we await the outcome, 21st Century will continue to professionally and objectively serve our readers, and responsibly handle related matters," it said, reports the BBC.

President Xi Jinping has started a campaign against corruption in the country with zero tolerance. Several high profile personalities have been put in the dock on bribery and graft charges, the most infamous being former security chief Zhou Yongkangf.