Former Comelec chief Andres Bautista under Canadian custody pending US extradition

NEW YORK — Former Commission on Elections chairman Juan Andres "Andy" Bautista has been under Canadian custody for more than two and a half years and currently faces possible extradition to the United States, documents obtained by GMA News Online showed.

According to a ruling by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Canada, Justice Catrina Braid ordered in August 2025 the "committal of Mr. Bautista into custody to await surrender" in connection with a United States extradition request.

Bautista was arrested in Canada on September 28, 2023, pursuant to a provisional warrant after a criminal complaint was filed in Florida against him on September 19, 2023.

The United States is seeking Bautista's extradition to stand trial in Florida over allegations that he received bribes from companies awarded contracts to supply voting machines and election services for the 2016 Philippine elections. He later allegedly laundered the money through a bank account linked to Baumann Enterprises, a company he partly owns.

"In 2018, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Florida began investigating Mr. Bautista for bribery and money laundering. During its investigation, Homeland Security established a connection between two shell companies and the company that was awarded contracts for election equipment and services [in the Philippines]," the court document read.

"In August 2016, these shell companies tried to send $2 million USD to the Baumann Account," it added.

US authorities claim Bautista received kickbacks from companies awarded election contracts. Alleged bribe money was transferred to the Baumann account, including $960,000 used to purchase a property in San Francisco.

The court document stated that Bautista failed to declare his interest in Baumann Enterprises in his statement of assets during his tenure as a Philippine government official.

Bautista argued that there was no evidentiary link between money used to purchase the San Francisco property and the alleged bribe proceeds.

However, Braid said in the ruling, "I find that the respondent took steps to facilitate the deposit of funds into the Baumann Account, for which he is a signatory... These acts constitute the actus reus (guilty act) of the money laundering offense."

Cited as circumstantial evidence with Bautista's "intent to convert" the proceeds include an August 2016 email wherein he "tried to facilitate the deposit of funds into the Baumann account," and his alleged attempt to convince bank officials that transfers were "legitimate funds."

The Ontario Superior Court ruled that there was sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case for money laundering under Canadian law.

"For all of these reasons, I find that there is sufficient evidence on every essential element of the parallel Canadian offence upon which a jury, properly instructed, could convict. Identity has also been established. Pursuant to Section 29 of the Extradition Act, I order the committal of Mr. Bautista into custody to await surrender," Braid wrote in the ruling.

Bautista argued that a newer indictment filed in Florida in August 2024 had superseded earlier US documents and made the Record of the Case unreliable.

He also claimed that the extradition process amounted to an abuse of process. However, the court rejected those arguments, ruling that Canadian extradition proceedings are based on the Authority to Proceed issued by Canada's Justice Minister, not on US indictments or foreign legal procedures.

Braid also ruled that Bautista failed to meet the high legal threshold required to compel further disclosure in extradition proceedings.

The court said the additional bank documents submitted by US authorities were consistent with the allegations and did not establish “manifest unreliability” in the prosecution’s evidence.

The court documents do not specify the exact detention facility or his precise current location.

The ruling confirms that he remains under Canadian custody while awaiting the next phase of the extradition process.

A US federal court case against Bautista remains pending while Canadian extradition proceedings continue.

Meanwhile, his co-accused Roger Alejandro Pinate Martinez, Jorge Miguel Vasquez, Elie Moreno, and SGO Corporation Limited are scheduled to attend a status conference on May 28, 2026, before the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. — VDV/KG, GMA News