Andean Medjedovic, a 22-year-old Canadian national, has been indicted by the US government on charges of wire fraud, computer hacking, and attempted extortion for stealing approximately $65 million in cryptocurrency from decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols KyberSwap and Indexed Finance. The schemes exploited vulnerabilities in “smart contracts,” allowing Medjedovic to drain millions of dollars from investors’ liquidity pools.
Medjedovic’s methods included using borrowed cryptocurrencies to create artificial prices, which he then used to calculate precise combinations of trades that would cause the smart contracts to “glitch.” He attempted to extort control over KyberSwap and its investors in exchange for returning half of the stolen cryptocurrency. Medjedovic also attempted to launder the proceeds through various protocols.
The indictment alleges that Medjedovic’s schemes occurred between 2021 and 2023, involving multiple transactions and cryptocurrencies. The government’s case is being handled by the US Attorney’s Office in New York, with assistance from the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and other agencies.
Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/canadian-national-charged-stealing-approximately-65-million-cryptocurrency-two-defi