MANILA — YouTube on Wednesday said it has suspended the official channel of religious leader Apollo Quiboloy, citing violations of its community guidelines.

The video sharing platform announced its decision on Twitter, after responding to a tweet calling for the move.

Gaming YouTuber Mutahar, also known as SomeOrdinaryGamers, had raised issues about Quiboloy's channel to YouTube via Twitter on Tuesday, citing the human trafficking cases against the Davao-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder filed in the United States.

The user alleged that despite his cases, Quiboloy had been "running a channel still reaching out to victims less than 12 hours ago."

Quiboloy had some 47,600 subscribers on his channel before it was taken down.

Asked for comment, the preacher's legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio told ABS-CBN News he did "not yet have full possession of the facts."

In 2022, the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) placed Quiboloy on its most wanted list for a string of cases, including sex trafficking of children, fraud, coercion, conspiracy, and bulk cash smuggling.

The FBI announcement came a year after the preacher was indicted in the US for sex trafficking, with American prosecutors alleging that some girls and young women were coerced to have sex with him.

• Quiboloy, 2 others in related cases placed on FBI’s most wanted list
• Apollo Quiboloy, founder of Kingdom of Jesus Christ church, indicted for sex trafficking

Late last year, the US Treasury Department also slapped sanctions on Quiboloy for his alleged involvement in corruption and human rights abuses.

Quiboloy responded to the accusations by likening himself to Biblical characters, alluding to himself as a "modern Joseph" from the Book of Genesis who was undergoing tribulations.

—with a report from Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News

RELATED VIDEO:

Watch more News on iWantTFC