Smartmatic co-founder and president Roger Piñate surrendered to federal authorities in Miami, Florida on Monday, where he faces charges related to foreign corruption, bribery, and money laundering to secure elections contracts in the Philippines.
Piñate, 49, was charged along with Jorge Miguel Vasquez, 62, the company’s former VP of hardware development – who also surrendered on Monday.
Piñate posted an $8.5 million dollar bond and was later released, however he did not enter a plea because his defense attorney, Curt Miner, has yet to become his permanent lawyer. Vasquez was released on a $1 million bond. His defense attorney, Frank Rubino, told the Miami Herald “It’s so early in the case, “But we have been aware of this investigation since 2019.“
Oh…
According to the indictment, the alleged co-conspirators financed the bribes by over-invoicing the cost per voting machine used in the elections. To hide their crime, prosecutors say they used coded language to refer to a slush fund used to make the illicit payments – causing the creation of fraudulent contracts and fake loan agreements to make the transfers appear legitimate.
The defendants then allegedly laundered the funds related to the bribery scheme via a constellation of international bank accounts in Asia, Europe and the United States – including in the Southern District of Florida.
Hellbound and Down 