Denis Mikhailov, 37, was arrested late in 2004 and later found guilty of passing on a document to Teimuraz Karchava, the president of a VIP club, and Alexei Kirzhnev, an adviser to the head of an investment bank, in return for a Mercedes worth 87,000 euros ($110,000).
The businessmen were also convicted for their role in the affair and were sent to prison for 21 months and four and a half years respectively.
Vladimir Zherebenkov, a lawyer for Mikhailov, said he intended to appeal the court's verdict.
"This is a very harsh sentence, especially considering that my client's guilt was not proven by the investigation materials," he said.
Mikhailov, who was a deputy department director specializing in foreign affairs and debt, will serve his sentence in a maximum security prison and was also banned from holding a state position for three years after his release.
