I was one of the very early supporters of Danny and Neo Bee.
Even though I was very angry at Danny when I learned what he did (by talking to some of his employees), and I might have even written a nasty post in my anger during the first couple of days (I cannot recall and I do not even want to go back and check) I decided to remain silent for several days in order to calm down, and think rationally about the Neo Bee events so as to come to some conclusion.
I do not believe that the whole thing started as a scam, fraud etc.
I believe Danny was honest and invested a lot of money in Cyprus. He would not have invested so much money and, according to reliable sources, even pay 35K for the tax of his car a couple of days before he disappeared + prepay a full year's rents for his Nicosia house in which he moved in in 1-2 months ago.
Something else must have happened that we do not know such as:
1. He did lose coins in Mt.Cox and Bitfunder and kept it a secret.
2. For whatever reason he got involved with the underworld and when they realized that he was a holder of a lot of bitcoins he received threats.
3. He decided overnight that he'll cut his losses/investments.
4. Mismanagement of funds due to inexperience, sudden loss of coins for whatever reason, panicking and running away.
I am 100% sure that he initially was very honest and didn't have the intention to run away with people's money and coins.
Since the last press reports on April 3rd, the Neo Bee issue has never been raised again by any one in Cyprus and people have already forgotten it. It has not been mentioned a single time any where in the media, press or wherever. The reason for this is because no one from the public has lost any money. It was very wise and very responsible from Danny and/or his managers not to open the branch for business and not do any transactions with the public until everything was 100% safe. I credit them for this.
The only people that have been left with a pain, and some of them lost a lot of money, are his unpaid employees and creditors including PVS.
The honest thing for him to do is to pay his outstanding debts to his employees and his creditors and I am sure that he and his family, and we, can put this behind us and carry on with our lives.
Danny if you are reading me I am sure you will understand and appreciate what I am saying. I apologise for not responding to your messages but I saw them AFTER you disappeared. I was never a sophisticated user of the forum and didn't notice them.
As for his shareholders, including myself who bought some shares at Havelock for a couple of thousand $s, well guys I am very sorry about our losses but at the end of the day we invested in a BTC start-up. 95% of start ups in such a new and risky area fail. Yes it is painful, we lost money, but we must try to forget it and carry on with our lives as well. If we all stay in bitcoin, a bright future with handsome dividends awaits all of us.
All the best.
Skoutz, since you currently live in Cyprus (please correct me if I am wrong ), I would like to ask you; how has this affected the view of BTC in the public there (average Cypriot)? Do they see BTC as a scum infested useless form of money or do they realize that this is nothing more one failed business and still see the merits of this new technology?
I am asking because I am originated from Cyprus (therefore I am really interested in the place) and I think that this was/is an opportunity to lead the way in something good (with the uni involvement, the financial services background and all).
So I guess the final question is; is BTC a joke in Cyprus now or not?
BR
Stelios
p.s. I fully agree with the views you posted above, I also was one of the very early supporters of Danny and Neo Bee and I do not think this was a scum from the beginning (and I did not loose so much to be in denial ;p). What annoys me the most though, is that Danny disappeared (Dikeonontas olous aftous pou emeis legame trols) without giving any information on what happened!!! If you (through personal contact) have any additional information I would like to ask you to share it with the group. I think everybody here (initial supporter or not) has the right to find out what happen + It would make a really interesting thread heh.
The Neo Bee saga has made some damage to BTC and the ignorant people confuse BTC with Neo Bee.
However, in view of the good work done by the University of Nicosia, I believe the BTC name will be restored in the near future.
There are various rumors as to the kind of criminal offences charged by the police but it is more gossip than actual facts. I guess in the next couple of days more information might be brought to light.
Apart from the news last night about the arrest warrant people do not actually talk about it, it is more or less forgotten because the "public" has not been involved and the masses did not lose any money or BTC.
I still believe that this was not a scam from the beginning but the way Danny handled the whole issue it developed into criminal.