Venezuelan owners offer Sequoia Voting Systems for sale
AP reports: A major voting machine company owned by Venezuelan investors said Friday it plans to sell its U.S. subsidiary, ending a federal investigation into alleged ties between the company and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
In March 2005, Smartmatic Corp. acquired Sequoia Voting Systems Inc., which produces touch-screen and other machines and is one of the largest voting equipment makers in the U.S.
The U.S. government began informally reviewing the deal earlier this spring after a request by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., who cited a potential risk to the integrity of U.S. elections.
Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica, who has dual Spanish-Venezuelan citizenship, later called for an official investigation to clear the company. He and other company officials insist the Venezuelan government has never had any stake in Smartmatic, which is headquartered in Boca Raton, or in Oakland, Calif.-based Sequoia. -- Venezuelan co. to sell U.S. subsidiary - Yahoo! News