US prosecutors say Smartmatic executives bribed officials for $1M contract in the Philippines

Federal prosecutors have charged voting technology firm Smartmatic with money laundering and other crimes arising from more than $1 million in bribes several executives allegedly paid to election officials in the Philippines

Smartmatic Bribery Charges (2018 Atlanta Journal Constitution)

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 and secure the timely payment for its work, according to a superseding indictment filed Thursday in Miami federal court.

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

Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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 U.S. presidential election.