The Venezuelan e-voting company Smartmatic features prominently in United States of America v Juan Andres Donato Bautista, a criminal complaint filed recently by Markenzy Lapointe, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. The complaint describes how Smartmatic, Antonio Mugica and other top executives of the firm bribed their way into a $199 million contract granted by Juan Andres Donato Bautista (bribes recipient). Bautista is a former head of Philippines's Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
Smartmatic's "business model" has been known to readers of this site for well over a decade. While the company's current lawsuits might give the impression that it was hard done by, it is irrefutable that corruption is, and has always been, a key part of its DNA. Mugica gave control of Smartmatic's source code to Venezuela's electoral authority in exchange for hundreds of millions worth of contracts. It is not surprising that it paid a few million here and there to obtain a gigantic deal to run elections in the Philippines.