Beijing, Sep 22 (IANS): Bo Xilai, former secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and a former member of the CPC's Political Bureau, was sentenced to life imprisonment Sunday for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

He was deprived of political rights for life, and his personal assets were confiscated, Xinhua reported.

The Jinan Intermediate People's Court in east China's Shandong province announced the verdict.

Bribes received directly by Bo or via his family totaled 20.44 million yuan (about $3.3 million), the court said.

The court also decided that, from 1999 to 2012, Bo took advantage of his positions as mayor of the northeastern city of Dalian, secretary of the CPC Dalian city committee, governor of northeastern Liaoning province, and commerce minister to seek benefits for others.

Bo helped Dalian International Development, of which Tang Xiaolin was general manager, in taking over the Dalian City liaison office in Shenzhen and also helped Tang obtain quota licenses for importing cars, the court said.

According to court findings, Bo granted Xu Ming, chairman of Dalian Shide Group, favours in the company's introduction of a football-like sightseeing hot-air balloon and in its bid for a petrochemical project.

The court found that Bo directly accepted cash totaling 1.1 million yuan from Tang. He was aware that his wife Bogu Kailai and their son, Bo Guagua, accepted monetary gains and properties worth 19.33 million yuan from Xu.