Lawyer denies Quiboloy church under FBI investigation

The lawyer of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy denied Wednesday reports that the Filipino televangelist's church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, is under investigation in Hawaii for alleged human trafficking.

In a phone interview, lawyer Israelito Torreon told GMA News Online that they were "surprised" and "flabbergasted" with the accusations as they heard nothing about legal proceedings when he was in Hawaii from March 10 to 22.

"I did not receive any notice of any investigation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. If you would note, the jet of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy was already released by authorities to him through me, and while I was there, there was no information whatsoever that the Kingdom is under investigation," Torreon said.

"And if ever it is true, rest assured that the Kingdom is very much willing to participate in the investigation because we are very confident that we are innocent of the charges filed against us," he added.

Without mentioning names, Torreon said there is high probability that someone is sowing "fake news" against the Kingdom, and even mentioned a "former member" who was "disgruntled" with the church.

"The fact that this is done against us speaks highly of the probability that there really is somebody or some forces out there to really [disparage] the Kingdom," he said.

"We have reason to believe that probably, I'm not saying this is true, probably this is the same person who is trying to bad image about the congregation of Apostol Quiboloy," Torreon added.

He did not deny that the church was engaged in fundraising, but denied that it was as "aggressive" as reports have stated.

"I don't know how they define 'aggressive,' but any organization for that matter is really engaged in fundraising activities. We do not deny that we have certain fundraising activities, but to describe it as 'aggressive' is another thing," Torreon said.

He added that service with the church is voluntary. "We do not force anyone to participate in any of our activities."

An alleged victim of the Kingdom said members who had failed to sell enough goods for the church's fundraising sales in Hawaii were punished. The punishments reportedly included, but were not limited to, physical violence and hair shaving.

Torreon was in the US to regain custody of Quiboloy's jet, in which authorities allegedly found $350,000 in cash and rifle parts that the lawyer attributed to Felina Selinas, a Kingdom member.

He said Salinas is now facing charges for alleged bulk cash smuggling. She is also facing sexual harassment charges. —KBK, GMA News