Smartmatic Added to U.S. Bribery Indictment

The U.S. Justice Department has added voting-technology firm Smartmatic and its parent SGO Corporation Ltd. to a superseding Miami federal indictment alleging a scheme to bribe Philippine election officials and launder money. Prosecutors allege executives funneled more than $1 million between 2015 and 2018 to Juan Andres Bautista, the longtime chairman of the Philippines election commission, to secure contracts tied to the 2016 presidential election. The superseding indictment expands August 2024 charges against executives Roger Piñate, Jorge Vasquez and Elie Moreno for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money-laundering offenses. DOJ filings say the alleged payments resulted in lucrative government contracts — the Wall Street Journal reported the work was worth roughly $199 million. Smartmatic denies the allegations and continues other high-profile U.S. litigation, including a $2.7 billion defamation suit against Fox News.