Smartmatic executives charged in alleged bribery scheme in the Philippines

The president and two executives of the voting machine company Smartmatic are facing federal charges tied to allegations of bribing the former top election official in the Philippines.

Federal prosecutors in Miami allege that between 2015 to 2018, Roger Alejandro Pinate Martinez, 49, a Venezuelan citizen, Florida resident and co-founder and president of Smartmatic and Jorge Miguel Vasquez, 62, a Smartmatic executive based in Florida, paid Juan Andres Donato Bautista, 60, at least $1 million in bribes during his time as chairman of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) from 2015 to 2017.

The alleged goal to bribe Bautista was to win business tied to providing voting machines and election services for the 2016 elections in the Philippines, prosecutors said. They allege the men over-invoiced the cost per voting machine for the 2016 Philippine elections and used slush funds and coded language to hide payments.

The men then allegedly laundered the money from the bribery scheme through bank accounts around the world including in Asia, Europe and in Florida.

In a statement shared on X, the company said, “Regardless of the veracity of the allegations and while our accused employees remain innocent until proven guilty, we have placed both employees on leaves of absence, effective immediately.”

The statement continued, “No voter fraud has been alleged and Smartmatic is not indicted. Voters worldwide must be assured that the elections they participate in are conducted with the utmost integrity and transparency. These are the values that Smartmatic lives by.”

Pinate and Vasquez are facing one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and one charge of violating the FCPA. Bautista, Pinate, Vasquez and a fourth individual – Elie Moreno, 44, a dual citizen of Venezuela and Israel – are all facing one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments.

The company says its equipment is used in more than 30 countries. Los Angeles County is the only U.S. jurisdiction that uses Smartmatic's equipment.

Smartmatic has been the target of conspiracy theories in conservative media related to the spread of debunked fraud claims about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The company has sued conservative media outlets and commentators, including Fox News for $2.7 billion, over false claims Smartmatic had a hand in switching votes from former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden. A trial in the Fox case is expected to begin next year.