A federal grand jury in Miami on Thursday reportedly indicted the multinational election technology company Smartmatic and several of its senior executives, alleging their involvement in a sweeping bribery and money-laundering operation that spanned multiple countries and corrupted foreign election contracts.
According to the indictment, U.S. prosecutors charged Smartmatic’s parent company, SGO Corporation Limited, along with top executives Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez, Jorge Miguel Vásquez, and Elie Moreno, as well as former Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chairman Juan Andres Donato Bautista. The charges include conspiracy to commit money laundering and international money laundering. Martinez and Vásquez also face violations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
Federal prosecutors say that from 2015 to 2018, Martinez and Vásquez funneled at least $1 million in bribes to Bautista, then one of the Philippines’ top election officials, to secure favorable treatment for Smartmatic during and after the country’s 2016 national elections. The payments allegedly helped the company obtain contracts, secure the release of tax reimbursements, and receive other financial benefits from the Philippine government.
Investigators claim the executives financed the bribes by inflating the prices of voting machines used in the 2016 election and concealing the illicit payments through a complex network of shell companies, fake consulting contracts, and international bank transfers routed through Asia, Europe, and the United States.
“These defendants allegedly engaged in a sophisticated global bribery and laundering scheme designed to manipulate the public contracting process and enrich themselves at the expense of public integrity,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones of the Southern District of Florida, who announced the charges alongside officials from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the IRS Criminal Investigation unit.
The investigation was led by HSI’s El Dorado Task Force in Miami, with assistance from IRS-CI Miami and coordination with Philippine authorities.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison for the money-laundering counts and up to five years for the FCPA violations. Bautista and Moreno remain fugitives.
The indictment marks a major escalation in scrutiny of Smartmatic, a company that has been at the center of global debates over election integrity. The firm, which has operated in more than 30 countries, has long faced questions over its opaque ownership structure and past controversies tied to its work in politically volatile regions such as Venezuela and the Philippines.
According to prosecutors, the case reveals how Smartmatic’s executives “abused their positions” and manipulated government contracts to enrich themselves while undermining public trust in democratic institutions.
For years, Smartmatic has presented itself as a leader in transparent and secure election technology. The charges brought in Miami, however, allege a far different story — one involving inflated government contracts, secret payments, and a global effort to conceal illegal profits.
The company and its executives are expected to appear in federal court in Miami later this month.
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