The United States has asked the Philippine government to extradite a Filipino church leader, once an influential adviser to former President Rodrigo Duterte.

He is sought to face trial on charges including child sex trafficking and fraud, which landed him on the FBI’s most wanted list, two Philippine officials confirmed Thursday.

The U.S. request for the extradition of Apollo Carreon Quiboloy was sent to the Department of Justice in Manila through the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department in July.

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

The U.S. Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Quiboloy, the 76-year-old leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church, once a powerful spiritual adviser and "political kingmaker" in the Philippines, is known for his extraordinary claims, including assertions that he is "the appointed son of God."

His church was founded in southern Davao City in 1985 and claims a wide following both domestically and in the U.S., and served as a spiritual guide to 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, where he will face trial for alleged crimes against humanity.

His pronouncements, such as claiming to have stopped a major earthquake from hitting the southern Philippines, have often sparked questions about his character while simultaneously endearing him to his followers.

The legal framework for criminal suspects in the Philippines dictates that trials must conclude and sentences be served before extradition can occur.

However, Philippine justice officials possess the authority to petition a domestic court for the temporary surrender of a suspect to a foreign court, allowing them to face trial prior to the resolution of their Philippine cases, as outlined in the 1994 extradition treaty between Washington and Manila.

In 2024, Quiboloy went into hiding after a Philippine court ordered his arrest along with several others for alleged child and sexual abuse and human trafficking, police said. The Philippine Senate separately ordered Quiboloy’s arrest at the time for refusing to appear in public hearings about his alleged crimes.

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

Quiboloy and four others facing accusations surrendered in September 2024 after about 2,000 police raided a 30-hectare (75-acre) compound of his religious group, which included a cathedral, stadium, hangar and taxiway leading to Davao's international airport. He has been jailed since then.

U.S. federal prosecutors in 2021 separately announced an indictment of Quiboloy for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and “eternal damnation” unless they catered to the self-proclaimed “son of God.”

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

After that indictment, he was placed on the list of the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives.