Venezuelan Co-founder Charged in Philippine Election Bribery Scandal

Roger Pinate, the Venezuelan co-founder of Smartmatic, is charged with bribing officials in the Philippines to secure election-related contracts. The Justice Department revealed that between 2015 and 2018, bribes were funneled through a slush fund. Smartmatic has placed the accused on leaves of absence and denies any voter fraud.

The Venezuelan co-founder of a voting machine company, Smartmatic, has been charged by a federal grand jury in Miami for allegedly paying over USD 1 million in bribes to officials in the Philippines. The charges center on contracts secured nearly a decade ago.

According to the Justice Department, Roger Pinate and a colleague funneled bribes to the chairman of the Philippines' electoral commission between 2015 and 2018. This was done through a slush fund created by overcharging for voting machines. The payments aimed to secure business and timely payments.

Co-conspirators disguised the payments using coded language and sham loan agreements to transfer funds to bank accounts across Asia, Europe, and the United States. Smartmatic announced it had placed the employees involved on leave and emphasized that no voter fraud has been alleged, and the company itself has not been indicted.

(With inputs from agencies.)