domains The Chagossians want .io back and they are fixated on cryptos using .io (If you own .io a must read)

[equity78]

Back in 2014 GigaOM published a story on the .io extension, the country code for the British Indian Ocean Territory. With the ominous title, The dark side of .io: How the U.K. is making web domain profits from a shady Cold War land deal. Things came to the surface about who runs the .io extension, […]

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[capybara]

So they want to TAX businesses basing on their domain extension? Do these guys even understand how internets work

 

[equity78]

So they want to TAX businesses basing on their domain extension? Do these guys even understand how internets work

Yeah Don the complaint goes in a lot of directions. They seem to say they themselves have investigated fraud in crypto. Tying it to the extension, I think that is just to make the UK look bad. They even put out a press release separate from the complaint.

UK Accused of Allowing Billions in Crypto Fraud in its Indian Ocean Colony

Chagos Islanders Seek Restitution of Popular .IO Domain

London (July 9, 2020):

British Indian Ocean Territory is best known for the secretive US naval base on Diego Garcia Island but is also home to the top level domain .IO that is popular with crypto asset and technology companies.



The United Nations General Assembly, African Union, and International Court of Justice have found that Britain’s deportation of the Chagos Islanders a generation ago and continued occupation of the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) is unlawful and a serious violation of international law.



According to the Complaint the British have stubbornly refused to vacate the Chagos Archipelago not only due to the presence of the US naval base but because billions of dollars in covert financial transactions are at stake.



In 1997 a secret agreement with the British Crown resulted in the creation of the top level domain country code .IO (ccTLD .IO). .IO was a relatively low key alternative domain until about 2016 when its popularity exploded in connection with the rise of cryptocurrency. In 2017, the company administering .IO was sold for $70 million to internet giant Afilias Ltd. which is the world’s second largest Internet domain name registry.



The Chagos Islanders are now seeking restitution and return of .IO which has made the Chagos Archipelago one of the world’s least known but largest offshore financial centers by daily dollar volume.



A complaint has been filed with the African Commission of Human & Peoples’ Rights (the Banjul Court) which has jurisdiction over the Chagos Islands and the issues of recovery and restitution.



According to Dr. Jonathan Levy, the international lawyer representing the Chagos islanders, while .IO is utilized by legitimate companies, it is also remarkable for crypto asset based criminal operations: Ponzi and pyramid schemes, High Yield Investment Platforms, and fraudulent Initial Coin and Token offerings. Dr. Levy explains: “The criminals know there is zero law enforcement in the British Indian Ocean Territory, they use only cryptocurrency, they need no address besides a .IO domain and crypto wallet to commit crimes like fraud, money laundering and extortion.” Dr. Levy estimates tens of billions of dollars a day in unregulated crypto asset transactions take place in .IO involving hacking, tax evasion, money laundering, fraudulent investment schemes, gambling, terrorism and organized crime financing including the well-known crypto scams OneCoin and USITech.



A link to the case is here: https://no_url_shorteners/IOdomain



For more information contact:

Dr. Jonathan Levy, Attorney & Solicitor

[email protected]

 

[Mytz.com]

Is IO domain name valuable?
I had a few IO domain names before, but they all lost money

 

[linuxfreak]

Is IO domain name valuable?
I had a few IO domain names before, but they all lost money

They are valuable only if you have generic names.

 

[equity78]

Is IO domain name valuable?
I had a few IO domain names before, but they all lost money

What were the names?

 

[pb]

"The Complainants are mindful that someday the digital patrimony and property of the Chagos Islands will be restored to them by the Occupying Power. As ccTLD.IO is perhaps the most valuable asset and going business in the BIOT"

Surely they'll want to rename the islands after getting rid of the occupants, so why would they be worried about the TLD, it will just get obsoleted like .dd. Or maybe they'd like to get a new TLD (corresponding with the new name) but keep .io operative like Russia with .su? But While .su appeals to some Russians for nostalgic reasons, I don't think any of the Chagossians will be nostalgic about BIOT, at least they don't sound like they would.

 

[RJ]

Well, so much for investing in .IO domains. I'm staying clear of them now.

 

[equity78]

"The Complainants are mindful that someday the digital patrimony and property of the Chagos Islands will be restored to them by the Occupying Power. As ccTLD.IO is perhaps the most valuable asset and going business in the BIOT"

Surely they'll want to rename the islands after getting rid of the occupants, so why would they be worried about the TLD, it will just get obsoleted like .dd. Or maybe they'd like to get a new TLD (corresponding with the new name) but keep .io operative like Russia with .su? But While .su appeals to some Russians for nostalgic reasons, I don't think any of the Chagossians will be nostalgic about BIOT, at least they don't sound like they would.

I don't know about that, I think they see .io as a valuable asset they might not want to see that go and rather profit from. Just my opinion.

 

[zigomon]

Hi,am from Mauritius i and can say nothing will change the dot .io will operate as it is,even if we get back Chagos the Mauritian Gov will do the Ruling.

 

[equity78]

Hi,am from Mauritius i and can say nothing will change the dot .io will operate as it is,even if we get back Chagos the Mauritian Gov will do the Ruling.

Well that's not 100% up to a country, IANA can decide if a country no longer exists to retire the cctld. I doubt they will but no one can give 100% guarantee.