Smartmatic in bribery case

Roger Piñate, the Venezuelan-American president and co-founder of Smartmatic, and Jorge Miguel Vasquez, the company's former vice president, have been indicted on charges of foreign corruption and money laundering related to bribery in the Philippines. They allegedly paid $1 million in bribes to Juan Andres Bautista, the former chairman of the Commission on Elections of the Philippines, to secure contracts for voting machines used in the 2016 elections. The indictment claims the pair inflated machine prices to fund the bribes and laundered the money through international bank accounts. Both Piñate and Vasquez were released on bond but have not entered pleas, while Smartmatic has placed them on administrative leave, asserting that the company itself is not implicated in the allegations of voter fraud. The indictment follows a federal grand jury investigation and comes at a time when Smartmatic is also involved in defamation lawsuits against Fox News and Newsmax regarding false claims about its machines during the 2020 U.S. elections. If convicted, Piñate and Vasquez face significant prison time under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering laws.