US wants Bautista's $1.2-M property forfeited

United States authorities are seeking the forfeiture of a $1.2-million property in San Francisco, California believed to have been purchased by former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Andres Bautista using bribe money he allegedly received from election technology provider Smartmatic.

- JANVIC MATEO

The STAR obtained a copy of the 31-page indictment filed against Bautista and three former and current executives of Smartmatic before the Florida Southern District Court in Miami. It included a forfeiture allegation, which listed a property in San Francisco that was earlier tied to Bautista.

Under US laws, a defendant – upon conviction – must forfeit to the US “any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to” the offense.

The US Department of Justice earlier stressed that the indictment is merely an allegation and that “all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”

Bautista is facing one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments over alleged bribery linked to the 2016 elections in the Philippines.

Also indicted were Smartmatic founder and president Roger Piñate, former Smartmatic vice president for hardware development Jorge Miguel Vasquez and former Smartmatic Philippines general manager Elie Moreno.

Based on the indictment, the San Francisco property was allegedly purchased by an unidentified “family member” of Bautista in 2016.

Prior to the purchase, this relative received a wire transfer of $960,000 from a Singapore-based bank account linked to a shell company owned and controlled by the former Comelec chief.

The indictment alleged that Bautista “wired and caused the wire transfer of $960,000, purportedly as a ‘gift,’” to his relative “to promote the bribery scheme and conceal the proceeds.”

Bautista’s estranged wife, Patricia, earlier alleged that the property was among those not included in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth of the former election official.