Canadian Man Indicted for $65M KyberSwap and Indexed Finance Hack

A 22-year-old Canadian, Andean Medjedovic, has been indicted in the United States for allegedly exploiting vulnerabilities in two DeFi platforms, KyberSwap and Indexed Finance, to fraudulently obtain approximately $65 million between 2021 and 2023.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Medjedovic manipulated KyberSwap and Indexed Finance smart contracts to execute deceptive trades, allowing him to withdraw investor funds at artificially inflated prices.

The indictment, unsealed in a New York federal court, details how he allegedly used borrowed digital tokens to carry out the scheme, rendering victims’ investments worthless.

Prosecutors claim Medjedovic laundered the stolen funds through cryptocurrency mixers and fraudulent accounts registered with fake or stolen identities. He also attempted to extort KyberSwap administrators, offering to return half of the stolen funds in exchange for control of the platform’s governance.

Court documents suggest Medjedovic, who earned a master’s degree in mathematics at 19 from the University of Waterloo, may have gone into hiding in 2021. Authorities believe he meticulously planned the KyberSwap attack and even discussed buying flights to flee Canada.

His capture was ultimately facilitated by an undercover agent posing as a money launderer. In February 2024, Medjedovic allegedly paid the agent over $86,000 to help move stolen funds from blacklisted accounts.

The indictment also references messages in which Medjedovic boasted about his exploits and hinted at future attacks. He now faces multiple charges, including wire fraud, hacking, attempted extortion, and money laundering, which carry potential sentences of up to 20 years per count. Prosecutors also identified an unnamed co-conspirator, believed to be a relative, who assisted in laundering the funds.