On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that four men were being charged in a Philippine bribery money laundering scheme in the Southern District of Florida. What makes this announcement of added interest? One of the men charged is Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez — who also happens to be the founder and president of voting machine company Smartmatic. 

From the DOJ's press release regarding the indictment:

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.

According to the indictment, between 2015 and 2018, Roger Alejandro Pinate Martinez, 49, a Venezuelan citizen and resident of Boca Raton, Florida, and Jorge Miguel Vasquez, 62, a U.S. citizen and resident of Davie, Florida, together with others, allegedly caused at least $1 million in bribes to be paid to Juan Andres Donato Bautista, 60, the former Chairman of COMELEC. These bribes were allegedly paid to obtain and retain business related to providing voting machines and election services for the 2016 Philippine elections and to secure payments on the contracts, including the release of value added tax payments.

The co-conspirators allegedly funded the bribes through a slush fund that was created by over-invoicing the cost per voting machine for the 2016 Philippine elections. To conceal and disguise the nature and purpose of the corrupt payments, the co-conspirators used coded language to refer to the slush fund and caused the creation of fraudulent contracts and sham loan agreements to justify transfers. The co-conspirators then allegedly laundered funds related to the bribery scheme through bank accounts located in Asia, Europe, and the United States, including in the Southern District of Florida.

Pinate and Vasquez are each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and one substantive violation of the FCPA. Bautista, Pinate, Vasquez, and Elie Moreno, 44, a dual citizen of Venezuela and Israel, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments. If convicted, Pinate and Vasquez each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the FCPA and conspiracy to violate the FCPA counts. Bautista, Pinate, Vasquez, and Moreno each face a maximum penalty of 20 years for each count of international laundering of monetary instruments and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

"Smartmatic" will undoubtedly ring a bell with most readers. We've covered stories related to the voting machine company fairly extensively here at RedState. Here's just a sampling:

Fox Files Motion to Dismiss Smartmatic's $2.7 Billion Suit, Says Claims Against Company Were 'Newsworthy' Even if False

An Intriguing Email About the Clintons, Smartmatic and Elections

Smartmatic Voting Technology Co. Serves Fox News, Others for Defamation Over Voting Machine Claims

Well This Is Fun: Smartmatic CEO Tapped To Head Soros' Open Society Foundation

As noted, this indictment pertains to allegations of misdeeds involving the Philippines, not the U.S. Still, given the history, the indictment is sure to raise eyebrows. Not only have there been controversies (and litigation) involving U.S. elections and Smartmatic, Venezuela has also had its share of election controversy related to the company. 

Some added information of interest regarding Smartmatic and Piñate can be found in this Twitter thread: 

President of Smartmatic is among four indicted today by federal grand jury for bribery and fraud related to electronic voting systems.

DOJ names Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez in the news release, but does not identify him as president of Smartmatic. https://t.co/hMmtnS0niF

— J Michael Waller (@JMichaelWaller) August 8, 2024

Following the announcement of the indictment, Smartmatic responded:

Smartmatic released a statement acknowledging the indictments, saying that the two executives who are still at the company have immediately been “placed on leaves of absence,” though they “remain innocent until proven guilty.”

The company added, “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.”

However, as one might expect, the news is impacting some of the ongoing litigation involving the company.

Fox News and Newsmax have seized on the Philippines bribery allegations ever since CNN reported last year on the original charges against Bautista and the Justice Department’s ongoing criminal probe.

Lawyers for Fox News and Newsmax have argued that any criminal prosecution against top Smartmatic executives would significantly harm Smartmatic’s public reputation, making it much harder for the voting company to claim it was solely damaged by the controversial 2020 election coverage.

Currently, the suit between Newsmax and Smartmatic is set to start trial in September in Delaware state court.