A Strong Shadow Over the Crypto World: How a 21-Year-Old Canadian Hacker Is Being Sought by Serbia and Other Countries

Police operations in Serbia led to the arrest of Andrean Medjedovic, a 21-year-old Canadian accused of stealing approximately $65 million in cryptocurrency assets. The case involves international law enforcement agencies and highlights how challenging the fight against cybercriminals in the decentralized finance sector has become.

The investigation, covered by Foresight News, revealed details of one of the most ambitious thefts in the DeFi world. A young programmer, who started his activities as a teenager, specialized in finding vulnerabilities in decentralized protocol systems.

From Indexed Finance to KyberSwap: The Economics of Breaches

The first strike was against Indexed Finance when Medjedovic was only 18 years old. Using deep knowledge of mathematics and programming, he carried out an attack that netted him $16.5 million. This success prompted an even larger operation.

In 2023, the hacker shifted focus to KyberSwap — one of the leading decentralized exchange protocols. This time, the theft reached an even larger scale: $48 million. A combination of technical expertise and understanding of smart contract architecture allowed him to identify critical security gaps.

Crossing Borders: Step by Step

Medjedovic did not stay in one place. The investigation showed that he traveled across a wide network of countries — from Brazil to Dubai, from Spain to other nations. During his travels, he used a forged Slovak passport in an attempt to confuse law enforcement.

In August 2024, he was detained in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. However, the Serbian court denied the Netherlands’ extradition request for the young criminal. This decision allowed the hacker to escape. According to the latest reports, he is hiding in Bosnia.

The Shadow of Tornado Cash: The Investigation Led to Covering Tracks

The US Department of Justice issued serious money laundering charges. Investigators found that Medjedovic employed complex schemes through cryptographic mixers, including the notorious Tornado Cash platform, which specializes in concealing the origin of assets.

This aspect of the case demonstrates how traditional law enforcement mechanisms face innovative methods of hiding criminal proceeds. Even if arrest warrants are issued in multiple countries, the technical capabilities of modern thieves remain ahead in some aspects.

The Paradox: Denials Despite Evidence

In his previous court statements, Medjedovic vehemently denies all charges. Even more surprisingly, he claims about his current earnings: allegedly, he continues to make around $100,000 per month as a freelancer in the cryptocurrency industry. Such claims raise questions about his sources of income and the duration of his evasion from Serbian and international justice.

The case of Andrean Medjedovic vividly illustrates the challenges law enforcement faces in combating cyberterrorism in the decentralized finance sphere. International coordination remains critically important, but legal discrepancies and sophisticated asset masking schemes continue to give offenders ways to remain elusive.