Smartmatic executives charged with bribery of Philippine official

The Justice Department on Thursday charged three current and former executives at Smartmatic, the voting technology company, with taking part in a bribery scheme in the Philippines.

In the indictment, which was released publicly Friday, prosecutors said that from 2015-18, Smartmatic’s president and co-founder, Roger Piñate, and other executives funneled “at least $1 million in bribes” to Juan Andres Bautista, the former chair of the Philippine elections commission, so their company could obtain and maintain a contract providing voting machines and election services for the 2016 Philippine elections.

A Smartmatic spokesperson said in a statement that two of the people charged remain at the company, including Piñate, and each has been placed on a leave of absence, although he noted that “our accused employees remain innocent until proven guilty.”

“No voter fraud has been alleged, and Smartmatic is not indicted,” the spokesperson said. “Still, voters worldwide must be assured that the elections they participate in are conducted with the utmost integrity and transparency.”

Smartmatic became a household name after false claims were made about the company being involved in vote rigging during the US presidential election in 2020. Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News in 2021. The case is expected to go to trial in New York next year. A similar defamation case against the conservative network Newsmax is scheduled to go to trial in Delaware in September.

The bribes from the Smartmatic executives were paid for from a slush fund created by overcharging for the voting machines and laundered through bank accounts across Asia, Europe and the United States, according to the indictment.

Piñate and another executive, Jorge Vasquez, have been charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans corporate bribery abroad. Piñate, Vasquez, Bautista and Elie Moreno, a former Smartmatic executive, have also been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments, according to the Justice Department.

Bautista said in a post on social media that he would fight for his exoneration in court.

“I sense these charges were politically influenced by key Philippine officials,” he wrote.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.