US seeks extradition of Filipino church leader accused of fraud, sex crimes

The United States has requested the Philippines extradite a Filipino church leader who is on the FBI’s most wanted list to stand trial for child sex trafficking and fraud.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said it received the US government’s request for Apollo Quiboloy’s extradition on Thursday and endorsed it to the Department of Justice.

The request needs approval from two Philippine courts, which have been trying the detained former televangelist for human trafficking and child abuse charges, according to two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authority to discuss the issues publicly.

Quiboloy was arrested in 2024 on charges of child and sexual abuse as well as human trafficking. The Philippine Senate separately ordered Quiboloy’s arrest at the time for refusing to appear in public hearings about his alleged crimes. He has been jailed since then.

The preacher denied the allegations, saying they were fabricated by critics and former members who were removed from his religious group.

Criminal suspects in the Philippines must finish their trials and serve their sentences if convicted prior to extradition. However, under the 1994 extradition treaty between Washington and Manila, Philippine justice officials can ask a domestic court to allow the temporary surrender of a suspect to a foreign court to face trial prior to the resolution of their Philippine cases.

Quiboloy, 76, leads the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church, which was founded in 1985 in Davao in the southern Philippines and claims to have a large following both at home and abroad, including the US.

The self-proclaimed “appointed son of God” and “owner of the universe” has made outrageous claims that provoked questions about his character but endeared him to his followers. He once claimed to have stopped a major earthquake from hitting the southern Philippines in 2019.

Quiboloy was an influential religious leader in the Philippines and regarded as a political kingmaker. He served as spiritual adviser to former President Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in June 2016. Duterte was arrested in Manila last year under a warrant from the International Criminal Court and has since been detained in the Netherlands to face trial for alleged crimes against humanity.

In 2021, US federal prosecutors announced an indictment of Quiboloy for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and “eternal damnation” unless they agreed.

It is also alleged that female members of the church were recruited to work as personal assistants, or “pastorals,” for Quiboloy. They would prepare his meals, clean his homes, give him massages and were required to have sex in what the pastorals called “night duty.”

Quiboloy was among nine people named in a superseding indictment returned by a US federal grand jury and unsealed in November 2021. It contained a series of charges, including conspiracy, sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, marriage fraud, money laundering, cash smuggling and visa fraud.