Chinese businessman Lu Heng, operating through Cloud Innovation—a company registered in Seychelles—and Larus, based in Hong Kong, secured control of over 6.2 million IPv4 addresses from the African Regional Internet Registry (Afrinic). These addresses are predominantly leased out globally, with a significant portion finding their way to the Chinese market. Within just four years of Cloud Innovation joining Afrinic as a member in 2013, the company submitted four separate applications for these IP addresses. Subsequently, its affiliated entity, Larus Ltd., leased these addresses to corporate clients. Afrinic had made it clear that its allocated internet resources were strictly for use within the African region. However, Cloud Innovation faced accusations of deploying a substantial portion of these IP addresses in markets outside Africa, notably in China. This action triggered widespread discontent within the African tech sector, drawing criticism for transforming resources initially earmarked to bolster Africa's digital infrastructure into a vehicle for private profit. After a thorough review of the situation, Afrinic determined that Cloud Innovation had breached its registration service agreement. Consequently, it revoked the company's membership and seized the IP addresses in question. Yet, this decision sparked a legal battle between the two parties, during which Afrinic's bank account was temporarily frozen, jeopardizing the stability of the entire African IP address allocation framework. Presently, amidst the ongoing legal proceedings, Cloud Innovation's membership status and Afrinic's bank account have both been reinstated.