Convicted fraudster, Lena Allouche has registered Muslim Votes Matter South Australia on behalf of her organisation, Adelaide Sisters Association

A convicted fraudster, who runs a SA charity has registered Muslim Votes Matter South Australia on behalf of her organisation.

Lena Allouche has registered Muslim Votes Matter South Australia on behalf of her organisation, Adelaide Sisters Association. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

A convicted fraudster turned charity worker has registered a South Australian version of the Muslim Votes Matter, the budding Islamic political movement which senior Labor figures fear could hurt the Albanese Government at the next election.

In the wake of the ongoing war in Gaza in recent months Muslim Votes Matter and rival group The Muslim Vote have emerged in an attempt to influence the major parties’ position on the Middle-East, especially the ALP’s.

Lena Allouche has registered Muslim Votes Matter South Australia on behalf of her organisation, Adelaide Sisters Association. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

While The Muslim Vote is reportedly planning to support independent candidates running against Labor MPs in Sydney, Muslim Votes Matter has confined itself to issuing scorecards on how MPs have voted on Gaza.

It has also called for support for turncoat senator Fatima Payman who quit the party in WA and issued a list of ‘focus electorates,’ two of which are in South Australia - Makin, held by Tony Zappia and Spence held by Matt Burnell.

A senior Labor source said there was concern across the party about the introduction of a sectarian element to Australian politics which had been absent since the Catholic-Protestant divisions of the 1950s.

An Albanese Government minister agreed, describing the movement as “a headache we don’t need”.

According to an interview in the Guardian earlier this month the spokesman for Muslim Votes Matter is former Islamic Council of Victoria president Ghaith Krayem who in 2004 was struck off the legal practitioners’ roll in New South Wales for misconduct including withdrawing $1920 from a trust ­account to pay his office rent, deceiving a client, misleading a barrister, and matters involving the banking of trust funds.

Now the Sunday Mail can reveal that earlier this month convicted fraudster Lena Allouche, who runs the charity the Adelaide Sisters Association, has registered Muslim Votes Matter South Australia on behalf of her organisation.

The Adelaide Sisters Association, which supports the larger Islamic charity Human Appeal, has posted strongly in support of Senator Payman.

In May Ms Allouche escaped jail with a two-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to 27 charges related to almost $100,000 she had stolen from her employer.

The money was used to fund failing businesses she was running as well tickets to Lebanon for her entire family.

Magistrate Karim Soetratma said Ms Allouche’s creation of the charity which works to bring women of diverse backgrounds together in unity had played a part in keeping her out of prison.

Ms Allouche said she had created Muslim Votes Matter South Australia off her own bat “if it is required.”

“We’ve not been involved with anything for any of the other states,” she said.

“I don’t even know who they are. I only care about South Australia.”

Muslim Votes Matter have called on turncoat WA Senator Fatima Payman for support. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt.

Ms Allouche said she created MVMSA off her own bat. Picture: Supplied

A spokesperson for Muslim Votes Matters said it was unaware of the registration of a South Australian branch as it operated as a national entity.

“We have not received correspondence from anyone related to this business registration and are seeking legal advice as to appropriate recourse,” she said.

“MVM is aware of disciplinary matters involving Mr Ghaith Krayem and the Law Society which concluded in 2004... Those matters were resolved without charges ever being laid.

“MVM is equally aware of the last 20 years of selfless community work Mr Krayem has undertaken to uplift marginalised groups across Australia.

“The Muslim Vote and Muslim Votes Matter are independent of one another but willc ooperate and collaborate on matters that impact our community.”

Attempts to contact Mr Krayem were unsuccessful.

Originally published as Convicted fraudster, Lena Allouche has registered Muslim Votes Matter South Australia on behalf of her organisation, Adelaide Sisters Association