diff --git a/oboformat/src/main/java/org/obolibrary/obo2owl/OWLAPIObo2Owl.java b/oboformat/src/main/java/org/obolibrary/obo2owl/OWLAPIObo2Owl.java
index 0c6063f408..186c9ce340 100644
--- a/oboformat/src/main/java/org/obolibrary/obo2owl/OWLAPIObo2Owl.java
+++ b/oboformat/src/main/java/org/obolibrary/obo2owl/OWLAPIObo2Owl.java
@@ -1548,15 +1548,7 @@ public IRI loadOboToIRI(String id, boolean oboInOwlDefault) {
                 }
             }
         }
-        // TODO - treat_xrefs_as_equivalent
-        // special case rule for relation xrefs:
-        // 5.9.3. Special Rules for Relations
-        if (!id.contains(":")) {
-            String xid = translateShorthandIdToExpandedId(id);
-            if (!xid.equals(id)) {
-                return oboIdToIRI(xid);
-            }
-        }
+
         String[] idParts = id.split(":", 2);
         String uriPrefix;
         String localId;