Two French journalists were arrested on Thursday and remained in detention on Friday, after they tried to extort 3 million euros ($3.4 million) from Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet have been named as the two reporters, reports Associated Press.

Eric Dupont-Moretti, a lawyer of King Mohammed VI, gave an interview to RTL radio on Thursday, detailing that Laurent had contacted the king and said he and Graciet were writing a “compromising book” about him that would ruin his reputation.

They demanded the steep fee of 3 million euros in order to bribe them not to publish it.

In response, the king filed a lawsuit in Paris according to Dupont-Moretti, who said the arrests of the two were the result of a sting operation.

Laurent and Graciet wrote a book about King Mohammed VI back in 2012, lending credence to their threats.

The king has been making efforts to establish an image of being a “moderate,” even though he regularly jails Moroccan journalists who are critical of him.