JINAN, Feb. 28 -- Ni Fake, a former vice governor of east China's Anhui Province, was sentenced on Saturday to 17 years in prison for accepting bribes and holding property from unidentified sources.

The Intermediate People's Court in Dongying City in eastern province of Shandong announced the sentence and confiscated Ni's personal property worth 1 million yuan (162,290 U.S. dollars).

According to the court, Ni accepted cash, gemstones and art collections worth nearly 13 million yuan from the executives of nine companies on 49 occasions between 2000 and 2012. He could not explain the source of family income worth 5.78 million yuan.

Ni took advantage of his post to seek benefits for groups involved in real estate, mining and other businesses. He allegedly provided the companies with help in project planning, house demolition and resettlement for land development.