The Department of Justice charged voting machine company Smartmatic with conspiring to bribe foreign officials and money laundering in an alleged effort to win business in the Philippines.
Several executives from the company allegedly bribed election officials in the Philippines with more than $1 million.
The payments were made between 2015 and 2018 and were aimed at obtaining a contract with the country’s government for its 2016 presidential election and receiving payment for its work, a filing in a Miami federal court said. Smartmatic won contracts for nearly $200 million.
The DOJ had added Smartmatic to its case against three Smartmatic executives. The executives include Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez, Jorge Miguel Vasquez, and Elie Moreno. The first two were charged with foreign bribery and money laundering violations in August 2024, with Moreno charged with money laundering and conspiracy.
President Donald Trump had shown hesitancy to enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and paused enforcement of the law in February. He had asked for “revised, reasonable enforcement guidelines” to stop companies from being hurt in their efforts to compete abroad.
Trump alleged widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, pointing to rigged voting machines and a failure of the mail-in ballot system. Fox News, Mike Lindell, and other Republican allies blamed companies like Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems for the alleged voter fraud.
Smartmatic is in pending litigation with Fox News for a $2.7 billion lawsuit over the company’s airing of claims that the company helped rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Newsmax agreed to pay the company $40 million last year to settle its lawsuit.
A judge ruled in September that Lindell defamed the company with his election fraud claims, and Smartmatic said it would pursue “nine-figure damages” for “spreading lies” about the company.
FOX NEWS SEEKS SANCTIONS AGAINST SMARTMATIC OVER ‘DELETED EVIDENCE’
Smartmatic has denied any fault in the DOJ’s case against it and alleged that it was politically motivated.
“This is again, targeted, political, and unjust,” the company said. “Smartmatic will continue to stand by its people and principles. We will not be intimidated by those pulling the strings of power.”
