The former chairman of the Philippines election commission, Andres “Andy” Bautista, has been indicted by a United States federal grand jury in Florida on charges related to alleged bribes from a company that provided voting machines for the 2016 elections in the Philippines.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, Bautista, 60, faces one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments. Three executives from the voting machine company, Smartmatic, have also been indicted.
The indictment claims that between 2015 and 2018, Roger Alejandro Pinate Martinez, 49, a Venezuelan citizen and Florida resident, and others “caused at least $1 million in bribes to be paid” to Bautista.
Bautista has denied any wrongdoing, stating on X, “I did not ask for nor receive any bribe money from Smartmatic or any other entity.”
Smartmatic confirmed that two of its employees had been indicted but emphasized, “No voter fraud has been alleged and Smartmatic is not indicted.” The company added, “Voters worldwide must be assured that the elections they participate in are conducted with the utmost integrity and transparency. These are the values that Smartmatic lives by.”
Smartmatic has also filed lawsuits against Fox News and allies of former President Donald Trump over false claims that its machines manipulated the 2020 U.S. election results.
