Smartmatic Executives Indicted for FCPA Violations and Money Laundering – Pattern of Corporate Corruption in Foreign Election Contracts (Venezuela)

On August 9, 2024, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida filed a superseding indictment against Smartmatic executives Roger Pinate Martinez (President/COO) and Jorge Vasquez for: (1) conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (18 U.S.C. § 371); and (2) money laundering in connection with bribes paid to Philippine government officials to obtain election contracts for the 2016 Philippine national elections (United States v. Pinate Martinez and Vasquez, Case No. 1:24-cr-20343-KMW, S.D. Fla., superseding indictment filed Oct. 16, 2025). This federal prosecution establishes that Smartmatic, as a corporate entity, has a documented and prosecuted pattern of obtaining election contracts through bribery in sovereign nations – the same business model it employed to obtain and maintain the Venezuelan government’s election infrastructure contract that funded its foundational software development. Whether identical corrupt practices influenced Smartmatic’s U.S. business relationships, licensing agreements with Dominion, or relationships with U.S. election officials has not been the subject of any known federal investigation.