going for scams on the Internet. Two in particular are astounding for how long they ran before being exposed.

And they are still running as can be attested by their web sites. What amazes me is how could people believe that the offshore jurisdictions of the Kingdom of EnenKio or that the Dominion of Melchizedek ever existed. Their greed clouded their good sense.

Here's a run down of these two claims of what are basically virtual offshore territories, as described by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). May they serve as warnings to Bermuda residents, who like everyone else out there with a connection, are vulnerable to these claims.

On October 6, 2000 the SEC issued a restraining order alleging securities fraud against Robert F. Moore, who was doing business as The Kingdom of EnenKio. The SEC alleged that Moore, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, claimed to be head of state of The Kingdom of Enenkio and offered $1 billion of "Enenkio Gold War bonds'' over the Internet site www.Enenkio.org and via e-mail solicitations. The bonds would pay a compound interest rate of 10 percent after five years.

EnenKio claimed to have ancestral tribunal rights to Wake Island and atolls in the Marshall Islands chain. Moore said the bonds would be "backed by gold reserves, guarantees, real property or other assets'' but the SEC said EnenKio was not recognised by any international body and claimed there were no gold reserves, guarantees, property or assets backing the bonds.

The web site is still up and running and you can see all the details of the claims of embassies and representatives around the world. The Marshall Islands seems to be a locus for land claims. The Dominion of Melchizedeck also has claims on its Internet site http://www.melchizedek.com to the Taongi Atoll on the Marshall Islands, and other various islands scattered around the world.

Such a claim apparently stems from when, guess who, Robert Moore "assigned all of his rights, title and interest in Taongi; and authorised the 'Dominion of Melchizedek to do every act and thing necessary to transfer unto itself said rights, title and interest, and sanction(ed) its objectives to develop, govern and administer an environmentally sound business community, investment and tax haven paradise at Taongi Atoll, ultimately styled after that of Hong Kong''.

The Marshall Islands government has also said claims to the atoll were fraudulent. Melchizedek was mentioned by the SEC when it filed fraud charges in November 1999 against the World Financial & Investment Co., Inc. and Victor M. Wilson for their alleged roles in a Ponzi scheme called "60-40'' conducted through a bank chartered by the non-existent ''Dominion of Melchizedek''.

Wilson acted directly and through agents in Dominica to raise about $1.2 million from hundreds of investors in the United States and Dominica from March 1997 through April 1998 to allegedly invest the money in a programme promoted by Credit Bank International Co. Credit Bank is purportedly chartered in Melchizedek, and its principal, Roger E. Rosemont, claimed he was Melchizedek's "ambassador at large'' to the Caribbean. "In truth, the 60-40 program was a Ponzi scheme, Credit Bank is not a bank, Melchizedek is not a country, and Rosemont is no ambassador,'' the SEC claimed.

More recently the SEC accepted a settlement, announced on January 3 this year with Countryland Wellness Resorts, Inc. in which the company agreed to revoke registration of its common stock. The company had reported to the SEC in 2000 that it had assets of gold stored in a warehouse or exchanged for a negotiable warehouse receipt valued fron $19.5m to $27.3 million.

"The purported `gold' was, in fact, dirt that contained no more than trace amounts (0.151 ounce per ton) of gold,'' the SEC said. "Because the material stored at the warehouse was not gold, Countryland's reporting of it as an asset at any time and at any value was improper under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (`GAAP`).'' The company also reported last year that it had assets of $2.7 billion consisting of $300 million in cash and $2.4 billion in cash equivalents and that it had sold its gold mining interests to, guess who, the Dominion of Melchizedek for $2.418 billion in Treasury Bills.

Watch out on your radar screen for any company claiming to be registered in the Principality of Sealand, which made headlines last year for claiming sovereignty over a former World War II anti-aircraft military fortress in the North Sea, off the coast of the UK. Check out claims at http://www.havenco.com, which has a plausible but unlikely business plan -- setting up Internet server farms away from the reach of tax authorities.

Tech Tattle deals with topics relating to technology. Ahmed ElAmin is editor of OffshoreOn.com an Internet newsletter service that focuses on offshore financial centres. Contact Ahmed at editor y offshoreon.com or (33) 467901474.