Taipei - A Taiwan court Thursday sentenced a former top intelligence chief to 10 years in prison for his role in a high-profile money laundering scandal implicating the nation's ex-president Chen Shui-bian.

Yeh Sheng-mao, former director of the Investigation Bureau, was convicted on charges of leaking intelligence and helping others gain illicit profits, said judge Huang Chun-ming, a spokesman of the Taipei District Court.

Yeh, who retired from the Investigation Bureau earlier this year, was charged with concealing documents and leaking secrets concerning international investigations into alleged money laundering by members of Chen's family in late 2007 and early 2008, when he was still president.

Huang said Yeh's actions had seriously hampered investigations into the money-laundering allegations.

Yeh was the first person in the high-profile scandal to be charged and convicted. His lawyer said Yeh would appeal against the district court's verdict.

The scandal came to light in July when judicial authorities in Switzerland sought help from Taiwan for a Swiss investigation into money laundering.

Chen admitted in August his wife had wired 21 million US dollars abroad without his knowledge. He said the funds were "leftovers" from previous campaign donations. (dpa)