U.S. authorities have arrested 22-year-old Canadian, Andean Medjedovic, for allegedly stealing approximately $65 million from two prominent decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, Indexed Finance and KyberSwap. This article covers the details of his crimes, the legal charges against him, and the aftermath of his actions.
On February 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that Medjedovic has been charged with five criminal counts related to a sophisticated DeFi hack. These crimes include wire fraud, money laundering, and extortion, among others. The charges are connected to his exploitation of vulnerabilities in smart contracts on the Indexed Finance and KyberSwap platforms between 2021 and 2023.
How Medjedovic Manipulated DeFi Protocols
Medjedovic allegedly exploited flaws in smart contracts of both DeFi protocols to manipulate key financial variables. This allowed him to withdraw funds at artificially inflated prices, resulting in significant losses for investors. The hack involved complex manipulation tactics on the decentralized platforms, which rely on smart contracts for transaction automation.
After stealing millions of dollars, Medjedovic reportedly used crypto mixers and digital asset swaps to launder the illicit funds. Blockchain investigators discovered that Medjedovic attempted to hide the stolen cryptocurrency by transferring it through multiple wallets and bridging transactions, making it harder for authorities to trace the stolen assets.
The KyberSwap Extortion Attempt
In addition to the theft, Medjedovic allegedly tried to extort KyberSwap’s developers and investors. Prosecutors claim that he demanded full control of the platform’s Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) in exchange for returning half of the stolen funds. This extortion attempt further complicates his criminal actions. Medjedovic faces serious charges including wire fraud, unauthorized damage to a protected computer, attempted extortion under the Hobbs Act, and two counts of money laundering. If convicted, Medjedovic could face up to 20 years in prison for the majority of the charges, with an additional 10 years for the computer damage charge.
After the first hack in 2021, Medjedovic reportedly went into hiding, evading authorities while traveling across Europe and Latin America. He later claimed that his actions were justified under the “code-is-law” argument, which suggests exploiting smart contract flaws is fair game. This controversial defense has been widely criticized within the crypto community.
The KyberSwap Exploit and Subsequent Evidence
In 2023, Medjedovic allegedly drained around $50 million in cryptocurrency from KyberSwap. Investigators traced the exploit to a wallet tied to Medjedovic, leading to further links between his activities and the stolen funds. Attempts to move the stolen assets to Ethereum were blocked by platform developers, and Medjedovic allegedly contacted them, demanding the transaction be processed.
The co-founder of Indexed Finance, Laurence Day, has expressed skepticism that Medjedovic’s arrest will provide much relief to the victims. According to Day, much of the stolen cryptocurrency was later stolen in a separate hack, making recovery efforts even more difficult.
Conclusion
Andean Medjedovic’s alleged cybercrime scheme has rocked the DeFi industry, with millions of dollars stolen through sophisticated hacking tactics. As the legal process unfolds, the impact of these crimes on investors and the DeFi space continues to reverberate. Medjedovic’s case highlights the growing need for stronger security protocols in decentralized finance systems to protect investors from similar exploits in the future.
