Smartmatic Executives Indicted for Bribing Comelec Chief

Smartmatic executives, including co-founder Roger Piñate and Jorge Miguel Vasquez, have been indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury for allegedly bribing Andres Bautista, the former chairman of the Philippines' election commission, to secure business during the 2016 election. The indictment claims the scheme involved at least $1 million in bribes and laundering funds through accounts in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. Smartmatic has placed the accused employees on leave and emphasized that no voter fraud has been alleged and the company itself is not indicted. This development comes amid Smartmatic's ongoing defamation lawsuits against media outlets like Fox News and Newsmax, related to false claims about the 2020 U.S. election. Bautista, currently in hiding, has denied the allegations. If convicted, the defendants could face up to 20 years in prison for each count.