A Canadian national, Andean Medjedovic, has been charged by US prosecutors with stealing around $65 million from decentralized finance protocols KyberSwap and Indexed Finance. The Justice Department alleges that Medjedovic made deceptive trades to exploit the protocols in 2021 and again in November 2023, resulting in losses of over $64.8 million.
Prosecutors say Medjedovic borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars in digital tokens and used them to engage in fake trading practices that artificially manipulated smart contract calculations. This allowed him to withdraw millions of dollars from investors’ funds at inflated prices, rendering their investments essentially worthless.
Medjedovic allegedly attempted to extort his victims by sending a series of threatening messages demanding control of the protocol in exchange for returning half of the stolen digital assets. He also conspired with a relative to launder the stolen crypto through a cryptocurrency mixer and various blockchain bridges.
The case highlights the risks of decentralized finance protocols and the need for investors to be cautious when dealing with unregulated markets. The FBI’s efforts to combat crypto-related crimes are ongoing, and this latest arrest is a significant step in protecting victims of these types of heists.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-charges-canadian-65-million-kyberswap-indexed-finance-defi-hacks