Plantronics Pays $36 Million to Settle Bribery Charges Against ex-Polycom Employees

Headsets maker Plantronics agreed to pay a $36 million fine to settle SEC allegations that former employees of its Polycom subsidiary in China violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, said the company Wednesday. The alleged violations took place before Plantronics bought Polycom in July for $2.2 billion in cash and stock, and all the Polycom employees involved had left the company by the time the acquisition was complete, it said. About $31 million of the fine, to be paid from an escrow account set up as part of the Polycom buy, represents the profits Polycom gleaned from its “illegally obtained contracts in China,” said a DOJ letter summarizing the settlement terms. DOJ won’t prosecute the employees involved despite the bribery they committed and Polycom’s “knowing and willful causing of false books and records” to be reported, it said. It based the decision on Polycom’s “prompt, voluntary self-disclosure of the misconduct,” and its “full cooperation in this matter,” including firing eight employees involved, “disciplining” 18 others and terminating the company’s relationship with one of its “channel partners,” it said. Nothing in the settlement agreement provides "any protection against prosecution of any individuals, regardless of their affiliation with Polycom," it said. DOJ also "may reopen its inquiry" if it "learns information that changes its assessment" of the case, it said.