In September 2014, executives from the 21st Century Business Herald were arrested by Shanghai police,[7] who claimed they were suspected of
extortion.[8]
In April 2015, the official website of 21st Century Business Herald, "21st Century Net", was ordered by the media regulator of China to cease operation because of news blackmail,[9] and the newspaper was ordered to rectify.[10] And the Chinese official said that "21st Century Net" and 21st Century Business Herald also had irregularities such as not separating editorial and business operations.[11]
In December 2015, Shen Hao, the publisher of the 21st Century Business Herald,[12] was sentenced to four years in prison for extortion.[13]