Ex-Comelec chief Bautista indicted in US for bribery charges

MIAMI, Florida - The former chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the Philippines was indicted by a US federal grand jury in Florida on Thursday for allegedly taking bribes from a company that provided voting machines for the country's 2016 elections.

Andres "Andy" Bautista, 60, faces one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments, the US Justice Department said in a statement.

Three executives of the voting machine company were also indicted for their roles in an "alleged bribery and money laundering scheme to retain and obtain business related to the 2016 Philippine elections," it said.

The Justice Department did not identify the company but one of the three indicted executives is Roger Alejandro Pinate Martinez, 49, a Venezuelan citizen and Florida resident who is a co-founder of Smartmatic.

The indictment alleges that between 2015 and 2018, Pinate, Jorge Miguel Vasquez, 62, and others "caused at least $1 million in bribes to be paid" to Bautista.

Pinate and Vasquez are each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Like Bautista, Pinate, Vasquez, and Elie Moreno, 44, a dual citizen of Venezuela and Israel, are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments.

The US Justice deparment explained that "an indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law."

If convicted, the department said, Pinate and Vasquez each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the FCPA and conspiracy to violate the FCPA counts.

"Bautista, Pinate, Vasquez, and Moreno each face a maximum penalty of 20 years for each count of international laundering of monetary instruments and conspiracy to commit money laundering."

Meanwhile, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Philippine Department of Justice and Office of the Ombudsman provided substantial assistance.

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) matters.

The Philippines Commission on Elections banned Smartmatic last year from bidding on election contracts, but the country's highest court overturned the ban in April.

Bautista, who headed the election commission from 2015 to 2017, awarded Smartmatic a $199 million contract to supply the Philippines with 94,000 voting machines for the 2016 presidential election won by former leader Rodrigo Duterte.

The Justice Department and US Attorney's Office did not respond to a query from AFP as to whether Bautista is in US custody.

Fight for exoneration

In a post on X on Friday, Bautista said he would fight for his exoneration in court as he denied the allegations against him.

"I sense these charges were politically influenced by key Philippine officials. The voting machine company won the contract before, during and after my tenure as Chairman, a role I performed during the 2016 elections with zeal and competence in service of the Filipino people,” Bautista said.

"I will fight for my exoneration in court and show that I have not committed any crime against the US government or the American people nor have I taken advantage or prejudiced them in any way," he added.

There was also no immediate response from Smartmatic but a company spokeswoman told CNN last year that it has "has never won a project through any illegal means" and the allegations in the Bautista case are "not related to Smartmatic election security or integrity."

Smartmatic has filed lawsuits against Fox News and former allies of former president Donald Trump, including Rudy Giuliani, over false claims that its machines were used to manipulate the results of the 2020 US election. — Agence France-Presse with BAP/VAL/KBK, GMA Integrated News