( April 28, 2025, 22:58 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: Alleged payments to a Filipino government official were gratuities, not bribes, and therefore would be legal under decades of Supreme Court precedent, Smartmatic co-founder Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez argued in a motion to dismiss the corruption charges against him. The indictment may allege hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments, but it isn’t the amount that determines whether something is a bribe or a gratuity; Timing is the key criterion, a factor across multiple US corruption statutes, the motion said.Document attached....
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