The corporate logo of Smartmatic is seen at its offices in Caracas, Venezuela.
Two executives at Smartmatic, a voting machine company, were indicted in Florida on Thursday for allegedly bribing officials in the Philippines to secure contracts ahead of the 2016 election there, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida announced.
Smartmatic President Roger Piñate and another executive, Jorge Miguel Vasquez, were indicted on charges that they laundered money across the world — including through Florida — to pay an estimated $1 million in bribes to a Philippine official in order to secure contracts surrounding their 2016 election.
The employees have been placed on a leave of absence.
"No voter fraud has been alleged and Smartmatic is not indicted. Still, voters worldwide must be assured that the elections they participate in are conducted with the utmost integrity and transparency. These are the values that Smartmatic lives by," the company said in a statement.
Piñate, a Venezuelan citizen and Florida resident, and Vasquez, a U.S. citizen and Florida resident, could face decades in prison for money laundering and a related conspiracy charge, as well as five years for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
