A federal grand jury in Miami returned a superseding indictment on Thursday against voting machine company SGO Corporation Limited, known as Smartmatic, for its alleged role in a bribery and money laundering scheme targeting Philippine election officials.
Smartmatic, along with three of its executives—Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez, Jorge Miguel Vasquez, and Elie Moreno—has been accused of funnelling over $1 million in bribes to Juan Andres Donato Bautista, the former Chairman of the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
These bribes were allegedly intended to secure lucrative contracts and favorable tax reimbursements, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
"To finance the bribes, the co-conspirators allegedly created a slush fund by over-invoicing the cost per voting machine supplied for the 2016 Philippine elections," the release reads.
They then allegedly attempted to use fraudulent contracts and sham loan agreements to conceal the illicit payments.
The bribes, according to the indictment, were paid to obtain and retain business from COMELEC for the benefit of SGO Corporation Limited and its affiliates.
Smartmatic & its parent company indicted in Florida for bribery & money laundering tied to $100M+ Philippines election contracts (2015-18). Alleged slush fund bribed officials for voting machine deals. pic.twitter.com/44cqnIE5P4
— ALX ™ (@basedalx) October 16, 2025
READ MORE: Remember Smartmatic? Its President Was Just Indicted by the DOJ
Smartmatic Accused of Bribing Top Election Official, Using Bribery As a ‘Routine Business Practice’
Federal prosecutors in Miami had previously accused Piñate of transferring a luxury Caracas residence to Venezuela’s former elections chief, Tibisay Lucena Ramírez, in order to gain political favors.
Prosecutors claim they have text messages, along with photos and witness accounts, showing that Piñate transferred the home to Ramirez, who is president of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council.
Ramirez's role on the Council meant they had authority over the country’s controversial voting system, according to a report in the Miami Herald this past August.
All the libs who championed Smartmatic for suing Fox News are dead silent right now. Investigation and initial charges were under Biden so they can’t really say anything lmaohttps://t.co/imnDExdqOo
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) October 16, 2025
"Though it has consistently defended the integrity of its technology and denied involvement in government manipulation," the Herald reported, "the firm now finds itself implicated in allegations that its senior leadership engaged in bribery as a routine business practice."
The superseding indictment leaves Smartmatic further struggling to defend its reputation in the field of electronic voting systems.
A spokesman for Smartmatic has vehemently denied the accusations.
“This is wrong on the facts and wrong on the law,” he insisted in a statement. “We will contest the claims, and we are confident we will prevail in court.”
Smartmatic famously filed a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News in February 2021, alleging the network knowingly broadcast false claims that the voting tech company rigged the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Fox News has argued that the claims were newsworthy and protected by the First Amendment. The case is ongoing. Similar defamation suits against Newsmax ($40 million) and One America News (undisclosed amount) have already been settled.
RedState will keep you updated on this case as events warrant.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
Help us continue to report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member