The United States has asked the Philippines to extradite Apollo Quiboloy.
The United States government is seeking the extradition of televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, PH Ambassador to the US, Jose Manuel Romualdez, confirms.
In 2024, Pastor Quiboloy was arrested inside the KOJC compound in Davao City, where he had been hiding for months. He is the founder and leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, and despite his position as a church leader, he has been a highly controversial figure, often linked to numerous issues and accusations.
Last July, the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 159 junked the request of Quiboloy to be allowed to post bail for his temporary freedom.
Recently, according to Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel ‘Babe’ Romualdez, the US government has sent documents to the Philippines seeking the extradition of Quiboloy. Extradition is “the removal of a person (typically referred to as a fugitive) from a requested jurisdiction to another jurisdiction for criminal prosecution or punishment.”
The Department of Justice received the extradition documents, a request that was made last June.
To recall, in 2021, a US federal warrant was issued against Quiboloy after he was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion, along with the trafficking of minors, among other offenses.
He was accused of involvement in a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the United States using fraudulently obtained visas. Once in the country, the members were allegedly forced to solicit donations for a fake charity, with the funds said to have been used to support church operations and the extravagant lifestyles of its leaders.
Meanwhile, despite the arrest, he has since pleaded not guilty to charges of qualified human trafficking.
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