Voting technology firm Smartmatic filed a motion Tuesday seeking to dismiss criminal money laundering charges, claiming the prosecution represents retaliation by President Donald Trump and his allies over the 2020 election.

Smartmatic's parent company, UK-based SGO Corporation, was added to a criminal indictment last fall that previously charged several executives with paying $1 million in bribes to election officials in the Philippines. The company argues that the Justice Department reversed course and decided to press charges only after Trump returned to the White House, despite years of cooperation including producing millions of documents and making presentations to federal agents.

The criminal case centers on alleged payments made between 2015 and 2018 to obtain a contract with the Philippines government for that country's 2016 presidential election. Co-founder Roger Pinate, who no longer works for the company but remains a shareholder, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors have sought to introduce evidence they claim shows revenue from a $300 million Los Angeles County voting systems contract was diverted to a slush fund through overseas shell companies and fake invoices. They also allege Pinate secretly bribed Venezuela's election chief by giving her a luxury home in Caracas to repair relations after Smartmatic left Venezuela in 2017, citing election manipulation concerns.

Smartmatic was founded over two decades ago by Venezuelan entrepreneurs and expanded globally to provide voting technology in 25 countries. The company has said its business suffered after becoming the target of conspiracy theories following the 2020 U.S. election, leading to a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against media figures who promoted unsubstantiated claims about the company's role in election fraud.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding Smartmatic's allegations of politically motivated prosecution.