NEWCASTLE, Australia — Former U.S. Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan is set to be extradited from Australia to the United States amid accusations of unlawfully training Chinese military aviators.

On Monday, Australia’s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus approved the extradition, bringing an end to the 55-year-old Duggan’s nearly two-year struggle to avoid being sent back to the U.S. Duggan, who spent 12 years in the Marines before moving to Australia and renouncing his U.S. citizenship, has been held in a maximum-security facility since his arrest in 2022 at his residence in New South Wales. He is a father to six children.

In a statement released Monday, Dreyfus confirmed the approval of the extradition but did not specify a timeline for Duggan’s transfer. He mentioned that Duggan was given a chance to argue against his surrender to the U.S. “In arriving at my decision, I took into consideration all material in front of me,” Dreyfus stated.

Earlier in May, a judge in Sydney ruled in favor of Duggan’s extradition, which made his appeal to the attorney general his final opportunity to remain in Australia.

According to a 2016 indictment from the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., revealed at the end of 2022, Duggan is accused of conspiring with others to provide training for Chinese military pilots during 2010 and 2012, and potentially at other times, without securing the required licenses.

Federal prosecutors allege Duggan received around 88,000 Australian dollars (approximately $61,000) and international travel from a co-conspirator under the guise of “personal development training.” If found guilty, he could face a sentence of up to 60 years in prison, although Duggan has categorically denied these charges.

Expressing her discontent, Saffrine Duggan, the pilot’s wife, stated in a Monday statement, “We feel abandoned by the Australian government and deeply disappointed that they have completely failed in their duty to protect an Australian family. We are now considering our options.”