Federal prosecutors have charged voting technology firm Smartmatic with money laundering and other crimes arising from more than $1 million in bribes that several executives allegedly paid to election officials in the Philippines. The payments, between 2015 and 2018, were made to obtain a contract with the Philippines government to help run that country's 2016 presidential election, according to a superseding indictment filed Thursday in a Florida federal court. Three former executives of Smartmatic, including co-founder Roger Pinate, were previously charged in 2024 but at the time South Florida-based Smartmatic was not named as a defendant. Pinate, who no longer works for Smartmatic but remains a shareholder, has pleaded not guilty.
The criminal case is unfolding as Smartmatic is pursuing a $2.7 billion lawsuit accusing Fox News of defamation for airing false claims that the company helped rig the 2020 US presidential election. Smartmatic denied the allegations and said it believed the US Attorney's Office in Miami had been politically influenced by unnamed powerful interests, reports the AP. "Smartmatic will continue to stand by its people and principles," the company said. "We will not be intimidated by those pulling the strings of power."
Prosecutors in August sought the court's permission to introduce evidence they argue shows that revenue from a $300 million contract with Los Angeles County to help modernize its voting systems was diverted to a "slush fund" controlled by Pinate through the use of overseas shell companies, fake invoices, and other means. They also accused Pinate of secretly bribing Venezuela's longtime election chief by giving her a luxury home with a pool in Caracas. Prosecutors say the home was transferred to the election chief in an attempt to repair relations following Smartmatic's abrupt exit from Venezuela in 2017 when it accused President Nicolas Maduro 's government of manipulating tallied results.
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A hearing on the purported evidence tied to Los Angeles and Venezuela will be held next month, however, none of the accusations are mentioned in the superseding indictment signed by Jason Reding Quinones, the new Trump-appointed US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Smartmatic has said its business tanked after Fox News gave Trump's lawyers a platform to paint the company as part of a conspiracy to steal the 2020 election. Fox said it was legitimately reporting on newsworthy events but eventually aired a piece refuting the allegations after Smartmatic's lawyers complained.
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