A top retired general has confessed to taking bribes, becoming the highest-profile figure in China's military to be caught up in President Xi Jinping's war on corruption.

Xu Caihou, formerly the vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission that runs the two-million strong People's Liberation Army (PLA), was also expelled from the Chinese Communist Party and had his rank of general revoked, according to a statement from military prosecutors cited by the state-run Xinhua news agency Wednesday.

The seven-month investigation, which began in March this year, found that Xu took advantage of his position to assist the promotion of other people, accepting huge bribes personally and through his family.

He was also found to have sought profits for others in exchange for bribes taken through his family members. The amount of bribe was "extremely huge", the statement added.

The allegations against Xu, 71, were announced on June 30 when President Xi presided over a leadership meeting to expel the retired general and three other senior members from the ruling

In a statement released after that meeting, President Xi and other Chinese leaders reiterated their "zero tolerance" for corruption in the government and military -- long a lightning rod for mass discontent across the country -- but they also acknowledged the anti-graft task would be "ongoing, complex and formidable."

The three other former senior officials ousted from the Communist Party for corruption were Jiang Jiemin, a former minister in charge of state assets; Li Dongsheng, a former vice minister of public security; and Wang Yongchun, a former deputy head of state-owned oil behemoth China National Petroleum Corporation.

State media characterized Xu as a big "military tiger" caught in the massive anti-graft campaign launched by President Xi, who is also the commander-in-chief. After becoming the head of the Communist Party in late 2012, Xi banned official extravagance -- from banquets to year-end gifts -- and vowed to target "tigers and flies" alike in his fight against corruption when describing his resolve to spare no one regardless of their position.

(CNN)