Amid the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and Canada, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed a five-count indictment against a Canadian national.
According to the official press release, a Canadian netizen named Andean Medjedovic (22 years old) has been accused in the United States of allegedly executing a $65 million crypto heist on two decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, KyberSwap and Indexed Finance, between 2021 and 2023.
To perform this bizarre heist, he exploited vulnerabilities present in smart contracts by borrowing massive amounts of digital assets, “which he used to engage in deceptive trading that he knew would cause the protocols”.
This trick allowed him to withdraw funds at artificially inflated prices, rendering the victims’ investments essentially worthless. The court filing states that Medjedovic stole $16.5 million from Indexed Finance in October 2021 and $48.4 million from KyberSwap in November 2023.
US DOJ Accuses Medjedovic of Money Laundering and Extortion Attempts
After stealing, Medjedovic laundered his illicit funds through swap transactions, bridging transactions, and a crypto mixer. This infamous technique helped to erase the origin of the stolen assets. After that, he allegedly used fake and borrowed identities to open accounts on multiple crypto exchanges to further evade detection.
After the KyberSwap hack, the perpetrator attempted to extort the platform’s operators by demanding full control of KyberSwap and its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
Medjedovic also faces multiple charges including wire fraud, unauthorized computer intrusion, one count of attempted Hobbs Act extortion, and money laundering. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case with support from international agencies, including the Netherlands’ Cybercrime Unit and Public Prosecution Service.
Also Read: Utah May Become the First US State to Officially Establish a Bitcoin Reserve
Source: https://www.cryptonewsz.com/us-doj-charges-canadian-65m-crypto-hack-trade/