Canadian Crypto Hacker Vanishes After $65M Heist: The Fugitive Math Prodigy Who Outsmarted Authorities

In a plot twist worthy of a Hollywood thriller, 22-year-old Canadian crypto mastermind Andean Medjedovic has vanished into thin air after being arrested in Serbia—leaving behind a trail of digital breadcrumbs worth $65 million and a baffled international law enforcement community.

Medjedovic, a Hamilton native who earned his master’s degree in pure mathematics at the astonishing age of 18, allegedly orchestrated not one but two sophisticated DeFi protocol heists that would make even seasoned cybercriminals envious. His mathematical brilliance, once destined for academic glory, became the weapon of choice in what authorities describe as a calculated campaign of digital theft.

The Double Heist That Shook Crypto Markets

The saga began in October 2021 when Medjedovic allegedly manipulated Indexed Finance’s index pools using borrowed cryptocurrencies, draining over $16.5 million from unsuspecting investors. But this was merely the opening act.

The following year, he reportedly conspired with an unnamed accomplice to launder the stolen funds through fraudulent exchange accounts and crypto mixers—demonstrating a level of operational sophistication that suggested months of meticulous planning.

Then came his magnum opus: In November 2023, Medjedovic allegedly exploited KyberSwap’s code to artificially manipulate prices in the protocol’s liquidity pools. The Vietnam-based platform lost a staggering $48.8 million in what investigators describe as a “glitch” that was anything but accidental.

“Medjedovic then calculated precise combinations of trades that would cause the KyberSwap AMM to ‘glitch,’ in his words, allowing him to steal tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from the liquidity pools,” the United States Attorney’s Office stated in their indictment.

What makes this case particularly brazen is what happened next. Shortly after the heist, the attacker sent a public message: “Negotiations will start in a few hours when I am fully rested. Thank you.”

KyberSwap offered a standard 10 percent bug bounty, but Medjedovic rejected it outright. Instead, he demanded complete control of the Kyber platform and offered to return just 50 percent to investors—a demand that was predictably refused.

The Four-Year Game of Cat and Mouse

Court documents reveal that Medjedovic spent those intervening years traveling extensively while attempting to maintain his lavish lifestyle on stolen crypto. He visited Brazil, Dubai, Spain, Bosnia, and Serbia, always staying one step ahead of authorities.

His luck finally ran out on August 9, 2024, when he arrived in Belgrade using the alias “Lorenzo” to book an apartment. Interpol Belgrade immediately contacted Dutch authorities upon his arrest, setting in motion extradition proceedings that would ultimately fail spectacularly.

During the extradition hearings at the Belgrade Higher Court, Medjedovic denied all accusations. “I do not wish to go to the Netherlands,” he stated, adding that “I would like to have children in Serbia and to achieve some more things here.”

He claimed he had been in Dubai for 4 months and had visited the Netherlands for 3 months “on a tourist trip.” Despite being Canadian, Medjedovic told the court he holds only a Bosnian passport—a claim that investigators are now scrutinizing.

The Digital Paper Trail That Led Nowhere

The U.S. indictment revealed Medjedovic maintained detailed files documenting his schemes, including one titled “moneyMovementSystem” with step-by-step instructions for laundering cryptocurrency through mixers. He allegedly wrote notes to “make a new bank account under a fake ID” and “order documents online (Russian + Brazilian + American citizen).”

These documents, discovered on devices seized during his arrest, paint a picture of a criminal who had thought through every contingency—except perhaps the one that would lead to his disappearance.

The Great Escape: How Did He Do It?

As of publication, Medjedovic has disappeared from Serbian custody, and the stolen $65 million remains dormant in crypto wallets. The question on everyone’s mind: how did a man under arrest simply vanish?

Sources familiar with the case suggest several possibilities. The most likely scenario involves corruption within the Serbian prison system, where Medjedovic may have paid substantial bribes to facilitate his escape. Alternatively, he may have exploited weaknesses in international extradition protocols, using his mathematical expertise to identify loopholes in the legal framework.

Another theory gaining traction is that Medjedovic never actually left custody but rather orchestrated an elaborate ruse to make authorities believe he had escaped, allowing him to move freely while they searched for a ghost.

The Digital Dragnet: Can He Really Stay Hidden?

“Everything is tracking to the overall growth of the crypto ecosystem,” said Ari Redbord, TRM’s global head of policy, during a recent interview. “The reality is that at some point you come in and you fall on your sword and potentially do everything you can to ultimately help the government.”

Modern blockchain analytics firms have made significant strides in tracking illicit cryptocurrency movements. Companies like Chainalysis and TRM Labs employ sophisticated algorithms that can trace transactions across multiple blockchains, identify patterns indicative of money laundering, and even predict where criminals might attempt to cash out their ill-gotten gains.

However, Medjedovic’s case presents unique challenges. His mathematical background likely means he understands these tracking mechanisms intimately and has developed countermeasures accordingly. The fact that the stolen funds remain dormant suggests he’s either waiting for the heat to die down or has found a method to obscure their movement entirely.

Kyle Armstrong, a former FBI agent at blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, put it bluntly: “He needs to be perfect from here until eternity in obfuscating the proceeds of this exploit, which are being tracked.”

The International Manhunt Intensifies

The FBI has now joined the hunt, working with Interpol and various European law enforcement agencies to locate Medjedovic. His case has become a priority for international cybercrime units, not just because of the substantial amount stolen, but because of what his capture (or continued evasion) represents for the future of cryptocurrency crime.

If Medjedovic remains at large, it could signal to other mathematically gifted individuals that sophisticated crypto crime pays—and that the international legal system remains vulnerable to exploitation by those with sufficient resources and expertise.

Conversely, his capture would demonstrate that even the most brilliant minds cannot outsmart the combined resources of global law enforcement indefinitely.

The Ultimate Choice: Cooperation or Consequence

If Medjedovic refuses to cooperate by returning funds and taking responsibility, he could face more than 10 years in prison. The decision he faces is stark: return the money and potentially receive a reduced sentence, or continue running and risk spending decades behind bars if caught.

Legal experts suggest that his mathematical background might actually work against him in negotiations. Prosecutors may view him as too intelligent to be rehabilitated through conventional means, potentially leading to harsher sentencing if convicted.

The Broader Implications for Crypto Security

This case has sent shockwaves through the DeFi community, highlighting vulnerabilities that many believed had been addressed. The fact that a single individual could exploit multiple protocols across different blockchains suggests systemic weaknesses in smart contract security that extend beyond individual projects.

Industry leaders are now calling for standardized security audits, mandatory insurance mechanisms, and perhaps most controversially, increased regulation of DeFi protocols. The tension between decentralization and security has never been more apparent.

Where Is He Now? The World Watches and Waits

As the international manhunt continues, speculation about Medjedovic’s whereabouts runs rampant. Some believe he’s hiding in plain sight, possibly in a country with lax extradition treaties. Others suggest he may have undergone extensive plastic surgery and adopted a completely new identity.

The most chilling possibility is that he’s already liquidated portions of the stolen cryptocurrency through methods that current tracking technology cannot detect, potentially making him one of the wealthiest fugitives in history.

Whatever the truth, one thing is certain: Andean Medjedovic’s story is far from over. Whether he’s eventually captured or manages to disappear forever, his case will be studied for years to come as a masterclass in both mathematical brilliance and criminal audacity.

The crypto world watches with bated breath, knowing that the next chapter in this real-life thriller could begin at any moment.

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