Former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chair Andres Bautista was indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States' Southern District of Florida for his alleged involvement in bribery and money laundering schemes, alongside three executives from an election voting machine and service provider.
The US Department of Justice said in a press release that Bautista has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments, for which the maximum penalty is 20 years' imprisonment for each count of said violations.
Two of the executives were charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and one substantive violation of the FCPA. Both plus a third have also been arraigned for conspiracy to commit money laundering and international money laundering.
The statement did not name the electoral service provider, but one executive, Roger Alejandro Pinate Martinez, 49, is the co-founder and president of Smartmatic.
Between 2015 and 2018, Pinate and Jorge Miguel Vasquez, 62 "caused at least $1 million in bribes to be paid" to Bautista.
"I sense these charges were politically influenced by key Philippine officials," Bautista responded on X. "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."
"I will fight for my exoneration in court and show that I have not committed any crime against the U.S government or the American people nor have I taken advantage or prejudiced them in any way," he added.
