Quiboloy, 2 others in related cases placed on FBI’s most wanted list | ABS-CBN

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Quiboloy, 2 others in related cases placed on FBI’s most wanted list

Quiboloy, 2 others in related cases placed on FBI’s most wanted list

Mico Abarro,

ABS-CBN News

 | 

Updated Feb 05, 2022 11:01 AM PHT

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 The FBI
The FBI's wanted poster for religious leader Apollo Quiboloy, who was indicted for sex trafficking last year. February 5, 2022. U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

MANILA—Apollo Quiboloy, leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church, has been placed by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation on its most wanted list.

Dr. Marlon Rosete, president of Sonshine Media Network International, the broadcast entity owned by Quiboloy, said Quiboloy's legal team will hold a press conference Sunday to address the issue.

According to the FBI advisory, which was posted Friday (US time), Quiboloy is wanted on allegations of "conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; bulk cash smuggling."

"Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, the founder of a Philippines-based church, is wanted for his alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the United States, via fraudulently obtained visas, and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity, donations that actually were used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders," the FBI said.

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"Furthermore, it is alleged that females were recruited to work as personal assistants, or 'pastorals,' for Quiboloy and that victims prepared his meals, cleaned his residences, gave him massages and were required to have sex with Quiboloy in what the pastorals called 'night duty'."

The FBI said people with information on Quiboloy could contact its local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

Reached for comment, the US justice department said: "We cannot comment on extradition proceedings, including whether they have been initiated."

According to the National Bureau of Investigation, it has not received a "formal communication" with the FBI on the matter.

Also on the list for cases connected to Quiboloy were Teresita Tolibas Dandan and Helen Panilag.

According to the FBI, Dandan was the alleged "international administrator" who was one of the top overseers of Quiboloy's church and its bogus charity operations in the US; Panilag allegedly oversaw the collection of financial data from church operations globally, and was indicted for conspiracy.

Quiboloy was indicted along with other members of his church for sex trafficking in the US last year.

The 74-page indictment said that victims involved in Quiboloy's alleged sex trafficking operation threatened victims as young as 12 with "eternal damnation" and physical abuse.

But Manila's Department of Justice said the US may have to wait for Quiboloy's possible extradition while a local case against him is pending in the Philippines.

In November, the church leader said that his continued "persecution" would lead to diseases "worse than Omicron."

Quiboloy, a self-proclaimed "Owner of the Universe" and "Appointed Son of God," is a longtime friend and spiritual adviser of President Rodrigo Duterte.

— With reports from Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN News North America bureau; Chrislen Bulosan

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