Two French journalists were arrested on Thursday in Paris on suspicion of trying to blackmail the king of Morocco, reports RFI.
Éric Laurent and Catherine Graciet are under investigation for attempted extortion after allegedly accepting money in exchange for a promise not to publish a book containing damaging revelations about King Mohammed VI.
On 23 July Laurent informed the Moroccan palace that he was publishing a book about the kingdom.
A couple of days later he met one of King Mohammed VI's lawyers and a deal was struck to the tune of three million euros, sources have told the AFP new agency.
However, the Moroccan royals made a formal complaint to France and a preliminary investigation was opened.
Other meetings followed, this time under surveilllance by investigators which led to the arrest of the two journalists, who both accepted money, according to Éric Dupond-Moretti, a lawyer for the Moroccan government.
"It's the first time I've ever seen someone, who says they're a journalist, openly conduct bribery against the state - it's outrageous!" Dupond-Moretti told French radio station RTL.