Voting machine maker asks for probe

WASHINGTON – A U.S. manufacturer of touch-screen voting machines confirmed Sunday it was being investigated by the federal government for alleged ties to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez but flatly denied any connection.

Sequoia Voting Systems Inc., based in Oakland, Calif., said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, was conducting the formal inquiry into it as well as its parent software company, the Smartmatic Corp., at the firms’ request after news articles suggested improper ties.

The inquiry was focusing on last year’s acquisition of Sequoia by Boca Raton, Fla.-based Smartmatic, which is owned by three Venezuelans, and whether Chavez’s leftist government has any influence over their operations.

“Sequoia and Smartmatic are not connected, owned or controlled by the Venezuelan government whatsoever,” Jeff Bialos, a Washington attorney representing the two firms, said in a telephone interview.

“There’s no basis for the allegations. We were trying to prove a negative, so the two companies voluntarily submitted a notice asking CFIUS to review the acquisition to put to rest the press allegations,” he said.

Brookly McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Treasury Department, which oversees the foreign investment committee, said Sunday that CFIUS has been in contact with Smartmatic but declined to comment as to whether there was a formal investigation.