Police investigating possible forgery at AFRINIC election

Police in Mauritius are conducting a criminal investigation into possible forgery related to the annulled June 2025 board election staged by the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC). AFRINIC is the regional internet registry (RIR) for 54 countries in Africa and the Indian Ocean region. In recent years it has experienced …

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

So how corrupt?

On the IOC - FIFA scale

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: So how corrupt?

Much less than a milliBlatter/Infantino or a microPutin.

Around 1-2M IPv4 addresses have been stolen from AfriNIC. They change hands for ~$50 each these days.

[IGotOut]

Re: So how corrupt?

Not as bad.

They are trying to stop the corruption. The other two are actively encouraging it.

[Paul Hjul]

Re: So how corrupt?

In monetary terms the entire RIR system is small compared to the IOC and FIFA. The problems are remarkably similar though - governance shortcomings being masked by a community that needs the institution to work. Basically because people tolerate bad actors the bad actors stick around and entrenched themselves into the mix and eventually a system favoring one set of bad actors is achieved.

Organizations like this are fundamentally susceptible to shenanigans. They also lend themselves to shenanigans taking the form of allegations and of shenigan perpetrators trying to out cheat the other.

The article though is suggesting that to get out of its quagmire Afrinic is at least attempting to do the right thing. As for FIFA...

Whether any particular thing being done is correct is ultimately a matter for the Mauritius courts to resolve. Equally if criminality is at issue there is a need for the processes and investigations to be able to run their course. Unfortunately as with FIFA the RIR ecosystem the most dangerous of the crooks will always pretend that the system needs them personally.