In a dramatic development that reads like a cyberpunk thriller, 22-year-old Canadian national Andean Medjedovic has been indicted for allegedly stealing approximately $65 million from two decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.
The indictment, unsealed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in February 2025, charges Medjedovic with wire fraud, computer fraud, money laundering, and attempted extortion.
Medjedovic allegedly orchestrated two separate attacks.
Medjedovic’s digital heists read like precision strikes, targeting mathematical vulnerabilities in DeFi’s automated defenses.
In 2023, he exploited code flaws in KyberSwap‘s automated market maker logic, draining approximately $48.8 million from 77 liquidity pools across six blockchains.
Think of it as tricking a digital vending machine into thinking your penny is a dollar bill—except instead of getting a cheap soda, he walked away with millions.
The second exploit targeted Indexed Finance in 2021, when Medjedovic was still a teenager.
He allegedly stole $16-16.5 million by manipulating trading activity that fooled smart contracts into mispricing assets.
After this attack, Medjedovic was surprisingly open about his involvement, arguing a “code is law” defense—essentially claiming that exploiting vulnerabilities was fair game, not theft.
What makes these exploits particularly sophisticated is how they manipulated the mathematical formulas that DeFi platforms rely on.
By taking out large token loans and executing specific trades, Medjedovic allegedly distorted market prices in liquidity pools.
These platforms—essentially digital trading venues without human oversight—were tricked into selling valuable assets for pennies on the dollar.
Law enforcement’s response has been robust.
If convicted, Medjedovic faces up to 10 years for computer fraud and up to 20 years each for wire fraud and extortion.
The investigation involved digital forensics and international cooperation among agencies including IRS-CI, Europol, and the J5 Cyber Group.
Investigators discovered that Medjedovic attempted to conceal his tracks using cryptocurrency mixers to obscure the origin of stolen funds.
Following the KyberSwap hack, he brazenly demanded control over KyberSwap in exchange for returning half of the stolen funds.
The attacks highlight the inherent smart contract vulnerabilities that continue to plague DeFi despite its innovative approach to financial services.
Medjedovic remains on the run since 2021, transforming this case into both a technical cybersecurity saga and an old-fashioned manhunt.
Meanwhile, investors in the affected platforms have been left with substantial, often unrecoverable losses.
