A close friend of China's former security chief was sentenced to seven years in prison on Friday for illegally transferring or selling land and offering bribes.

A statement posted on the micro blog of Yichang Intermediate People's Court in Hubei province confirmed that it had jailed Cao Yongzheng and fined him 73 million yuan ($11 million).

Cao said he respected the judgment and would not appeal to a higher court, the statement said.

The 57-year-old, from Qingdao, Shandong province, had a close personal relationship with Zhou Yongkang, formerly the nation's top security official, who was sentenced to life in prison last year after being convicted of accepting bribes, abuse of power and disclosing State secrets.

Last year, Xinhua News Agency reported that Zhou leaked five "extremely confidential" documents and a "confidential" document to Cao, in direct contravention of the Law on State Secrets.

Beijing News reported that Cao received bribes totaling 870 million yuan ($130 million) through Zhou and the departments he controlled, such as law enforcement bodies and State-owned enterprises, including China National Petroleum Corp.

In June, Zhou's son, Zhou Bin, was sentenced to 18 years for illegal business activities and bribery. Zhou Yongkang's wife, Jia Xiaoye, was sentenced to nine years for accepting bribes.