BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The former chairman of Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corp., Deng Qilin, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for taking bribes Wednesday.

Deng was also fined 5 million yuan (around 728,500 U.S. dollars) and his illicit gains will be turned over to the state treasury, the Intermediate People's Court of Foshan in southern China's Guangdong Province said in a statement.

He was found to have accepted bribes worth about 55.4 million yuan, in return for favors in business, project construction and promotions, while holding a series of posts in the steel company between 2000 and 2015.

The court said Deng was given relatively lenient treatment for cooperating with investigators, handing over the proceeds of his crime, and providing information about crimes committed by others.