Canadian Charged in $65M Crypto Protocol Hacks: KyberSwap and Indexed Finance Exploited
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged Andean Medjedovic, a Canadian man, with exploiting two crypto protocols, KyberSwap and Indexed Finance. He is accused of stealing approximately $65 million in digital assets and laundering the proceeds.
Medjedovic’s Exploits on KyberSwap and Indexed Finance
Medjedovic faces charges of hacking, money laundering, wire fraud, and attempted extortion.
The charges, unsealed on February 3, come after Medjedovic allegedly conducted deceptive trading on these decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. According to the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s office, Medjedovic is currently on the run, evading authorities.
Canadian charged with theft of $65 million worth of #crypto from KyberSwap, Indexed Finance, remains at large
— Pany (@MrTiritas) February 3, 2025
Prosecutors alleged that Medjedovic executed a complex scheme to defraud both crypto protocols.
In October 2021, Medjedovic allegedly manipulated the smart contracts of Indexed Finance, stealing around $16.5 million from its liquidity pools.
Later, in November 2023, Medjedovic carried out a similar attack on KyberSwap, exploiting the protocol for an additional $48.8 million.
Medjedovic allegedly borrowed significant amounts of digital tokens to manipulate key variables in the protocols’ smart contracts. This led to artificial price calculations that allowed him to withdraw funds at inflated values.
“Medjedovic borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars in digital tokens, which he used to engage in deceptive trading that he knew would cause the protocols’ smart contracts to falsely calculate key variables,” the indictment stated.
Through these deceptive trades, the victims’ investments were rendered nearly worthless. Prosecutors claim Medjedovic’s manipulations left the protocols’ investors in financial ruin.
Extortion and Laundering Crypto Proceeds
Following the KyberSwap hack, the DOJ claims Medjedovic attempted to extort the protocol’s victims. He allegedly sent a series of on-chain messages threatening to delay the negotiations to return the stolen funds. In one message, Medjedovic demanded control over the protocol in exchange for returning 50% of the stolen assets.
Medjedovic is also accused of collaborating with a relative to launder the stolen cryptocurrency.
According to prosecutors, he attempted to funnel the funds through a crypto mixer and various blockchain bridges, aiming to cash out the illicit proceeds through exchanges and bank accounts created using false identities.
One of the most notable claims in the indictment is the $85,000 payment Medjedovic allegedly made to an undercover agent posing as a software developer. This payment was reportedly made to free some frozen crypto funds on an unnamed bridge protocol.
In another high-profile case, Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, faces felony fraud charges related to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, which impacted about one million victims globally.
Like Medjedovic’s actions, Kwon’s alleged crimes highlight the growing risks in the crypto space. U.S. prosecutors are working to notify victims and provide them with their legal rights, showcasing the scale of the crisis caused by such crypto failures.