Andean Medjedovic, a 22-year-old man from Canada, is facing serious charges after he is alleged to have stolen $65 million worth of cryptocurrency in two major hacks. Between 2021 and 2023, Pecker is said to have taken money from two decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, KyberSwap and Indexed Finance.
The master’s degree in mathematics that Medjedovic earned from the University of Waterloo was applied to exploit the weaknesses in the systems of these platforms. He was able to steal millions of dollars from investors by manipulating the prices and using automated computer codes. He stole around $16 million from Indexed Finance and around $49 million in the case of KyberSwap.
The authorities say that Medjedovic was not trying to conceal his actions. He bragged about his crimes to people, even admitting he had carried out the Indexed Finance hack. Upon the KyberSwap hack, he allegedly attempted to seize power over the platform, promising to refund part of the funds that were stolen.
Medjedovic has been on the run since last year. Despite continuing an involvement in the cryptocurrency world, he has reportedly travelled around Europe, South America and other places. Now US prosecutors are charging him with wire fraud, computer hacking, money laundering and so forth. He could face up to 90 years in prison if convicted.
Medjedovic’s saga is a reminder of the lottery ticket nature of the crypto world in which some people use new technology to make money from others and get away with it. Authorities are still searching for him, though it’s not known where he is now.
Also read: South African Man Granted Bail for Allegedly Sending Bitcoin to ISIS
