A federal grand jury in Miami has issued a superseding indictment against SGO Corporation Limited, also known as the Smartmatic Group, for allegedly participating in a scheme to pay and launder over $1 million in bribes to a former Philippine government official. The charges relate to contracts connected with the 2016 national elections in the Philippines.
The indictment also names three executives of SGO Corporation Limited and Juan Andres Donato Bautista, the former Chairman of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) of the Philippines. The four individuals were first indicted in August 2024.
According to the indictment, from 2015 to 2018, Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez, a Venezuelan citizen living in Boca Raton, and Jorge Miguel Vasquez of Davie, along with others, paid at least $1 million in bribes to Bautista. The alleged purpose was to secure business from COMELEC, including the release of favorable value added tax reimbursements and other payments benefiting SGO Corporation Limited and its affiliates.
The indictment states that the co-conspirators financed the bribes by over-invoicing the cost per voting machine supplied for the 2016 elections. They are accused of concealing payments through coded language, fraudulent contracts, sham loan agreements, and routing transactions through bank accounts in Asia, Europe, and the United States, including accounts in the Southern District of Florida.
SGO Corporation Limited, Piñate, and Vasquez are charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Piñate and Vasquez face an additional count of violating the FCPA. SGO Corporation Limited, Bautista, Piñate, Vasquez, and Elie Moreno are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments. If convicted on all counts related to money laundering, Bautista, Piñate, Vasquez, and Moreno could each face up to 20 years in prison per count. Piñate and Vasquez could also face up to five years for each FCPA-related charge. Bautista and Moreno are currently fugitives.
“An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law,” according to the announcement.
The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations’ El Dorado Task Force Miami with assistance from IRS Criminal Investigation Miami. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs as well as authorities from the Philippines provided support.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida stated: “An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
Court documents related to this case can be found on the District Court for the Southern District of Florida’s website at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 24-cr-20343.
