English Translation of the News Release:
The crisis surrounding the African Network Information Centre (AfriNIC) has escalated: as announced by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), an insolvency administrator was appointed on February 12, 2025.
Five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) globally manage the allocation of IP addresses, including the Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC) for Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Central Asia, and AfriNIC for Africa. These RIRs sit at the intersection of a highly sought-after resource: IPv4 addresses, which are running out worldwide.
To capitalize on this scarcity, Cloud Innovation Ltd. (CI), a company based in the Seychelles with ties to Hong Kong’s Larus Ltd., specialized in leasing IPv4 addresses. As an AfriNIC member, CI obtained approximately 6.2 million IPv4 addresses. However, during a 2020 audit, AfriNIC discovered that most of these addresses were being used outside its designated region in violation of contractual terms, prompting AfriNIC to threaten revocation. This led CI to file multiple lawsuits against AfriNIC.
CI achieved a partial victory that threatened AfriNIC’s survival: on July 13, 2021, the Supreme Court of Mauritius ordered the freezing of AfriNIC’s accounts at SBM Bank Ltd. and Mauritius Commercial Bank, up to $50 million. This decision was overturned in October 2021. Then, on July 19, 2022, the court ruled that CI could temporarily continue its controversial IPv4 licensing operations.
Relative calm followed, but it was short-lived. On March 9, 2025, ICANN acknowledged a February 12, 2025 ruling by the Mauritius Supreme Court’s insolvency division, appointing Gowtamsingh Dabee of GD Riches as AfriNIC’s insolvency administrator. He was instructed to expedite elections for a new AfriNIC board by April 25, 2025. AfriNIC confirmed the decision under Section 187 of Mauritius’ Insolvency Act 2009.
The turmoil extends beyond CI. According to The Register, AfriNIC also faces allegations of sexual harassment and employee corruption. Since 2023, the organization has been unable to appoint a CEO or form a board, though operations continue.
ICANN expressed readiness to support fair elections and restore governance but emphasized that IP address management ultimately falls under the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which ICANN oversees:
“Those numbering resources are not assets of the RIR—the RIR’s value lies in distributing them per local policies.”
ICANN pledged to monitor the situation and assist the administrator in stabilizing AfriNIC. However, The Register remains skeptical, predicting controversy in the upcoming elections:
“AfriNIC elections often produce controversy. The Register expects things may get quite spicy in coming weeks!”
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