A Chinese politician linked with Zhou Yongkang has been put on trial for corruption in Tianjin a day after two close confidants of the disgraced former security chief were sentenced for similar crimes.

On Tuesday, Ji Wenlin, the former vice governor of Hainan province, appeared before a court in Tianjin. He is accused of amassing bribes totaling about 20 million yuan (over $3 million) and using his position to influence official processes to favor particular individuals and organization, according to Xinhua.

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Ji has been under investigation since February 2014, when the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced that he was "suspected [of] serious violations of discipline and laws."

Many pundits said the probe into Ji presaged the downfall of Zhou. Ji worked with Zhou for at least a decade in various positions between 1998-2008 at the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Chinese Communist Party Secretariat in Hainan, the Ministry of Public Security and at the Central Politics and Law Commission.

In June, Zhou was sentenced to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of abusing his office, accepting bribes and deliberately disclosing national secrets. The 72-year-old is the highest ranking official to be prosecuted since President Xi Jinping's anti-graft campaign commenced in 2012.

On Monday, two other close acquaintances of Zhou - Jiang Jiemin and Li Chuncheng - were sentenced to 16 and 13 years in prison respectively after they were found guilty of corruption.

Jiang, who headed China's largest petroleum firm, was momentarily taken into custody in 2013 and removed from his post as director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC). He has been accused to taking bribes worth 14 million yuan (over $2 million).

Meanwhile, Li, who was the deputy party secretary of Sichuan province, was sacked in 2012 after an investigation was launched into corruption allegations against him. Li is accused of taking up to 39 million (over $6 dollars) in bribes.

In addition to being sentenced to prison, both men have been fined 1 million yuan (over $150,000) by the court.

TagsZhou Yongkang, Zhou Yongkang Net Worth, Ji Wenlin, Li Chuncheng, Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI)