Smartmatic, Maker of US Voting Machines, Roiled by International Bribery, Money Laundering Charges

Three executives from the electronic voting machine company Smartmatic, including one former employee and the company’s current president, have been charged in a bribery and money laundering scheme.

“A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment today charging three executives of an election voting machine and service provider company and a former Chairman of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) of the Republic of the Philippines for their roles in an alleged bribery and money laundering scheme to retain and obtain business related to the 2016 Philippine elections,” said the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

According to the DOJ, the executives bribed Filipino election official Juan Andres Donato Bautista, who was also charged, with roughly $1 million in order to maintain their business relations with the Philippines for activities surrounding the nation’s 2016 election.

The Smartmatic executives reportedly inflated the price of their voting machines in order to create a slush fund for bribery money, which was laundered through banks in Europe, Asia, and the US

Smartmatic, a London-based election technology company, makes automated voting systems and election software for clients throughout the United State.

Throughout the scheme, which lasted from 2015 to 2018, the conspirators allegedly used coded language when discussing the bribery slush fund and created fraudulent contracts to justify the transfer of money.

One of the executives involved in the scheme was Roger Pinate, 49, a Venezuelan citizen and the founder and current president of the company.

Jorge Miguel Vasquez, another current executive, was charged alongside Pinate and Elie Moreno, 44, a Venezuelan-Israeli dual citizen and former Smartmatic executive who no longer works at the company.

Following the charges, the company published a statement attempting to downplay the seniority of the men who had been charged.

Smartmatic claimed that the accused employees have been placed on leave of absence, although it is unclear whether they will continue to receive payment from their employer.

The company was quick to assert that the charges have nothing to do with voter fraud and that the company itself remains worthy of public trust.

“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,” said Smartmatic on X.

Smartmatic has learned that two of our employees have been indicted for alleged violations of the FCPA in the Philippines almost 10 years ago. Regardless of the veracity of the allegations and while our accused employees remain innocent until proven guilty, we have placed both… pic.twitter.com/ZGFVXgh5XX

— Smartmatic (@smartmatic) August 9, 2024

The company claimed that it is entirely committed to integrity and transparency, but its president’s involvement in a bribery scheme is not likely to give voters confidence in the company’s integrity.

Smartmatic’s machines are used in elections in the US and across the globe, including the majority of North and South American countries, Australia, Italy, Britain, Norway, Taiwan, Pakistan, and numerous other nations.

Following the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump and his allies accused Smartmatic of being complicit in allegedly widespread voter fraud, which many believe led him to lose the election.

Trump allies claimed that Smartmatic equipment and technology was part of a conspiracy to undercount Trump’s votes and artificially increase votes for President Joe Biden, although the company has never been charged with fraud surrounding the 2020 election.

Smartmatic was selected by Venezuela’s socialist dictator, Hugo Chavez, to replace the country’s voting system in 2004.