Chinese authorities reported on Friday that well-known "anti-American" blogger Sima Nan was fined more than 9 million yuan (US$1.24 million) for tax evasion.

After investigation, the tax authorities were informed that Sima Nan had underpaid personal income tax, value-added tax and other taxes totaling 4.6243 million yuan between 2019 and 2023 by hiding his income and making false declarations.

In addition, its controlled enterprise underpaid enterprise income tax by 753,200 yuan by misrepresenting costs and expenses and illegally enjoying preferential policies for small and micro enterprises.

As a result, the regulator recovered tax payments, added late fees and fines totaling 9,269,400 yuan from Sima Nan and its controlled enterprise.

Sima Nan has been dubbed an "anti-American fighter" by his supporters, largely stemming from his long history of criticizing U.S. hegemony and related policies in public opinion.

In addition, he has curated topics and stirred up trouble on the Chinese Internet under the banner of nationalism, hitting out at Chinese private companies and private entrepreneurs.

Lenovo and its founder Liu Chuanzhi, as well as Alibaba founder Jack Ma, have been targets of his criticism.

However, in 2022, it was revealed that he had purchased U.S. real estate in 2010 and participated in U.S. Independence Day activities in 2023, which triggered the controversy of "inconsistency between words and deeds".

It is worth noting that Sima Nan's accounts on China's major social media platforms have been suspended since last November.

The latest punishment was seen by some in China's private sector as a sign of China's determination to clamp down on its economy.