Summary
- AFRINIC’s disclosed engagement letter documents a premium hourly rate and broad expense authority, but it is not itself a final spending ledger.
- Restoring confidence requires invoices, payment totals, approvers, matter-level work records and an independent conflict review.
The strongest public evidence is narrower than the most dramatic allegation. The signed engagement letter names C&A Law, covers numerous disputes, specifies US$1,000 per hour and permits a wide range of disbursements without a stated cap. Those terms create an obvious risk for a member-funded registry already operating amid litigation and governance paralysis.
What the letter does not prove on its own is the final amount paid, the work performed by each professional or whether every invoice was properly reviewed. Reports that total legal spending reached as much as US$10 million therefore need to be tested against bank records, invoices and board or receiver approvals. That distinction matters: a problematic contract is documentary fact; the scale and allocation of loss require an auditable trail.
AFRINIC’s next governance test is disclosure. Members should be able to see aggregate fees by case, the authority under which each engagement continued, expense controls, conflict declarations and any recovery action. Without that ledger, competing narratives will continue to substitute accusation for accounting.
