Federal prosecutors have charged Smartmatic executives with money laundering and bribery tied to $1M in payments to election officials in the Philippines.
Following a superseding indictment lodged Thursday in Miami federal court, prosecutors allege that the payments, which occurred from 2015 to 2018, were made in order to obtain a deal with the Philippine government to help monitor the country’s presidential election in 2016 and to ensure it was compensated for its services in a timely manner.
Three former Smartmatic executives, including co-founder Roger Pinate, were prosecuted in 2024, however, Smartmatic did not appear on the charge sheet.
Smartmatic has denied any wrongdoing, while maintaining that there have been no allegations of voter fraud, and employees are innocent until proven guilty. This case progresses alongside Smartmatic's pursuit of a separate, and continuing case, seeking $2.7 billion for defamation for false election rigging allegations made by Fox News.
The prosecutors state the alleged corruption or money laundering in connection with the Philippines contract presents a significant step in the context of international law for the voting technology company.
A request for comment from Antonio Mugica, the CEO of Smartmatic, was not immediately returned.
What facts are alleged in the superseding indictment related to Smartmatic?
The indictment alleges that executives at Smartmatic, including president Roger Piñate, engaged in a scheme to bribe Juan Andres Bautista - the chairman of the Commission on Elections of the Republic of the Philippines (COMELEC) - and to provide more bribes to Bautista to obtain and continue to obtain election contracts.
The indictment claims that the bribe money was laundered via multiple accounts in Asia, Europe, and the United States, including slush funds, to launder money relating to the bribes.
Piñate and others (Miguel Vasquez and Elie Moreno) were charged with conspiracy, money laundering, bribery and other offenses.