Federal prosecutors accuse Smartmatic executives of money laundering, bribing election officials

Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged the voting technology firm Smartmatic with money laundering and bribing Philippine election officials with $1 million, according to the Associated Press. 

The charges are related to payments the company allegedly made to secure a contract with the Philippine government to help oversee its 2016 presidential election and secure timely payment for its work. The payments were made between 2015 and 2018.

Three former Smartmatic executives, including co-founder Roger Piñate, were previously charged in 2024 but Smartmatic was not named as a defendant at the time. 

Federal prosecutors have also accused Piñate of bribing a top Venezuelan election official with a luxury residence in Caracas in exchange for political favors. 

Piñate has been charged in a $1 million bribery scheme in the Philippines for allegedly inflating the prices of voting machines and diverting the excess funds into secret accounts used to pay off Philippine election official Juan Andrés Donato Bautista.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.