MANILA, Philippines — The United States Department of Justice pursued prosecution of the case against Apollo Quiboloy as evidence and facts supported violations of US criminal law, the agency said.
Nicole Navas Oxman, senior communications advisor for International Law Enforcement spokesperson, noted that the “Federal Bureau of Investigation’s release of a wanted poster for fugitive Apollo Quiboloy follows a multi-year law enforcement effort.”
“The US Department of Justice pursues prosecutions when the evidence and the facts support violations of US criminal law and cause us to seek an indictment from the grand jury and the grand jury returns an indictment,” Oxman said in an email to The STAR.
The wanted poster for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder, she said, is unrelated to the Philippines’ ongoing presidential election campaign.
Oxman declined to comment on the extradition or a possible US request for the provisional arrest of Quiboloy, President Duterte’s close friend and spiritual adviser.
“As a matter of policy, the US Department of Justice generally does not comment on extradition-related matters until a defendant is in the United States,” she added.
The televangelist was indicted for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy, and bulk cash smuggling. (P.Lee-Brago, PS)