On February 3, the U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn publicly identified the individual responsible for the Kyber Elastic attack, which resulted in the theft of $47 million. In response, the head of Kyber Elastic expressed gratitude for the investigative collaboration of both domestic and international organizations, particularly acknowledging the Vietnam Blockchain Association.
“The identification of the attacker responsible for stealing $47 million from Kyber Elastic not only dispels false rumors that negatively impacted the community and Kyber’s reputation but also highlights the concerted efforts of the global crypto asset community. The Vietnam Blockchain Association played a significant role in the coordinated resolution of this issue, leading to a well-deserved outcome,” stated Mr. Trần Huy Vũ, CEO and Co-Founder of Kyber Network.
On February 3, 2025, an indictment was unsealed in the U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn, charging Andean Medjedovic, a 22-year-old Canadian national, with wire fraud, computer intrusion, and attempted extortion following the theft of approximately $65 million in digital assets from two decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols—KyberSwap (over $47 million) and Indexed Finance (over $16 million). Medjedovic is also accused of laundering the stolen assets. He remains at large. The case is being handled by specialized financial crime and cybersecurity units, with support from law enforcement agencies in the Netherlands and other international organizations.
Following the announcement of the indictment, Mr. Trần Huy Vũ, CEO and Co-Founder of Kyber Network extended his gratitude to the Vietnam Blockchain Association (VBA) for its cooperation and support in addressing the attack.
“The identification of the attacker as Andean Medjedovic, a Canadian national, once again confirms that Kyber had no involvement in the Kyber Elastic attack and refutes the baseless rumors of a self-hack. These false allegations have had a negative impact not only on Kyber’s reputation but also on the broader Vietnamese blockchain community. We deeply appreciate the relentless investigative efforts from domestic and international organizations, including tech and legal entities, and law enforcement agencies. In particular, the Vietnam Blockchain Association, as the only recognized industry association in Vietnam, played a crucial role in the investigation and in providing accurate information to the community”, emphasized Mr. Trần Huy Vũ.
The Kyber executive further stated that immediately after the incident, Kyber Network took swift action to mitigate the damage. To date, Kyber has fully reimbursed all legitimate losses incurred by affected users.
Mr. Phan Đức Trung, Chairman of the Vietnam Blockchain Association, commended the professionalism and dedication of each member of the Kyber team, particularly highlighting the leadership of Mr. Trần Huy Vũ in managing the incident response, demonstrating adaptability, and perseverance throughout the process.
“This incident serves as a valuable lesson for tech enterprises, emphasizing the continuous need for improvement to ensure the security of the decentralized financial ecosystem. It also showcases the resilience and adaptability of Vietnamese tech startups in the global market. On this occasion, I urge the Vietnamese blockchain community to strengthen solidarity and collaboration, fostering a healthy blockchain technology ecosystem that delivers real-world benefits to Vietnam in the evolving landscape”, Mr. Trung emphasized.
The VBA Chairman reaffirmed that the association, along with fraud-tracing initiatives in the Web3 space—such as ChainTracer, Verichain, and Anti-Scam Social Enterprise—and community media channels—will continue to support businesses, particularly startups, in ensuring transparent, secure, and efficient operations.
Kyber Network is one of the world’s pioneering blockchain projects, fully developed and owned by Vietnamese technology experts. Founded in 2017 by Lưu Lợi and Trần Huy Vũ, the Kyber Network protocol has been at the forefront of developing decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions, enabling secure and efficient liquidity provision and digital asset transactions.
Indictment details:
The indictment was announced by John J. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Antoinette Bacon, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice; Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) New York Field Office; James E. Dennehy, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office; and William S. Walker, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York.
Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of IRS-CI New York, stated: “This was a sophisticated fraud scheme exploiting vulnerabilities in smart contracts, leading to the theft of millions of dollars in digital assets. We have tracked and identified the individual responsible and are actively pursuing him.”
Meanwhile, James E. Dennehy, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, emphasized that the agency has charged Andean Medjedovic with multiple law violations and asserted that, like all cybercriminals, he will face justice.
John J. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, explained that Medjedovic orchestrated an elaborate scheme to exploit two decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, stealing tens of millions of dollars in digital assets from investors. “Our office is committed to safeguarding all financial markets, including digital asset markets, and will prosecute high-tech criminals no matter where they operate.”
In November 2023, Medjedovic allegedly exploited a vulnerability in KyberSwap, a DeFi platform operating across multiple public blockchains, including Ethereum and Arbitrum. He manipulated digital asset prices within KyberSwap’s liquidity pools using hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto, executing precisely calculated trades that triggered flaws in smart contracts, allowing him to siphon funds from the system.
Medjedovic drained liquidity from 77 KyberSwap pools across six public blockchains. He then attempted to extort KyberSwap developers and the platform’s governance DAO, demanding control over the protocol in exchange for returning 50% of the stolen funds.
To conceal the origins of the stolen assets, Medjedovic allegedly engaged in money laundering, using blockchain bridge protocols and cryptocurrency mixing services. He has been charged with multiple offenses and remains at large.
Read more about the Kyber Elastic attack:
– Kyber Elastic commits to fully compensating 100% of the damages in the $47 million attack
– “The Kyber Elastic attack, which took $47 million, was meticulously planned”