AFIC President Rateb Jneid Faces Internal Crisis and Regulatory Scrutiny

Rateb Jneid, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), is at the center of a severe internal conflict within Australia's peak Muslim representative body. Once a bankrupt builder turned professor, Jneid has consolidated power over the organization, which manages a $56 million property portfolio and lobbies government leaders. However, his leadership is now challenged by expelled members, including former assistant treasurer Mohammed Berjaoui, who alleges the organization has been hijacked. The dispute involves accusations regarding donations linked to charities run by Jneid’s family, prompting email campaigns to foreign embassies and warnings from government regulators about AFIC’s charity status. Jneid, currently in his ninth year as president despite constitutional term limits, has delayed elections multiple times. Controversy also surrounds his family background; two brothers were imprisoned for drug trafficking in 2016, while others face significant fines. Additionally, a family-linked charity, International Humanitarian Aid Inc., faces scrutiny for lacking public records of direct aid delivery despite receiving substantial donations. Jneid’s legal team dismisses these allegations as irrelevant historical matters or misleading attacks by ousted executives.