Bitcoin startup Neo & Bee CEO reappears after nearly two years of absence

     The CEO of Neo & Bee, once one of the hottest bitcoin startups, has recently resurfaced online after disappearing from the bitcoin community for nearly two years.

     Danny Brewster, founder and CEO of Cyprus-based bitcoin banking startup Neo & Bee, has resurfaced on his former Twitter handle @BtcDanny and posted messages including his intention to make good on his promise to compensate investors who lost money during the company’s turbulent early 2014 period.

     During this time, a warrant was issued for Brewster’s arrest and he faced charges from Cypriot law enforcement that he defrauded at least two clients of £35,000 in funds that they never received in Bitcoin.

     The @BtcDanny account posted its first message on Dec. 31 after nearly two years of inactivity, and in subsequent messages, Brewster told investors that he would soon be “back on track,” with his wording suggesting that he intended to compensate investors who had invested in the startup.

     In a statement to CoinDesk, Brewster reiterated the claims, adding that more information on their legitimacy would be released later.

Brewster said:

     "I hope that everything can be resolved and any funds that can be paid to investors will be paid according to the original agreement, and this is what I have been trying to do for the past two years."

     The announcements received mixed reactions on Twitter, with some encouraging Brewster to repay investors' money while others cast doubt on Brewster's poor track record within the industry.

     Brewster first proposed the idea of ​​a bitcoin bank to solicit funds from online bitcoin users in June 2013, and the idea attracted local media and made headlines in August.

     Neo & Bee planned to raise 24,600 bitcoins for its business, which were worth about $120 at the time. The shares were publicly traded on Havelock Investment, a platform used to trade bitcoin shares before the company was shut down.

     Brewster said the company is still active and that it will move on from the legal proceedings, but in the meantime some former employees have resigned.

A complicated history

     Shortly after the arrest warrant for Brewster was issued, former employees began coming forward to offer their own version of events at the company. At the time, employees reported to CoinDesk that Brewster had absconded with company funds while losing money in the collapse of bitcoin exchange Mt Gox.

     The documents provided to CoinDesk at the time paint a comprehensive, but unconvincing picture of the startup’s finances. At the time, theories abounded about the exact state of the startup’s finances, with employees citing a lack of transparency provided by Brewster about the company’s finances.

     Employees said Brewster then flew to the UK to try to find investment but did not appoint a decision-maker to lead the operation. Employees later resigned from the company, saying this confused them.

     Brewster and his family received frequent email threats and ultimately did not return to Cyprus, although how long he was gone is unclear. Since then, Brewster's whereabouts have been a topic of unnatural discussion in Bitcoin community forums.

     However, Brewster argued that the warrant was still valid, but he hinted that he was contesting the ruling. He further argued that an initial magazine article detailing the warrant against him was incorrect.