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Title: Canadian Math Prodigy Allegedly Stole $65 Million In Crypto

Link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/04/15/20172...

A Canadian math prodigy is accused of stealing over $65 million through
complex exploits on decentralized finance platforms and is currently a
fugitive from U.S. authorities. Despite facing criminal charges for fraud and
money laundering, he has evaded capture by moving internationally, embracing
the controversial "Code is Law" philosophy, and maintaining that his actions
were legal under the platforms' open-source rules. The Globe and Mail
reports: Andean Medjedovic was 18 years old when he made a decision that
would irrevocably alter the course of his life. In the fall of 2021, shortly
after completing a master's degree at the University of Waterloo, the math
prodigy and cryptocurrency trader from Hamilton had conducted a complex
series of transactions designed to exploit a vulnerability in the code of a
decentralized finance platform. The maneuver had allegedly allowed him to
siphon approximately $16.5-million in digital tokens out of two liquidity
pools operated by the platform, Indexed Finance, according to a U.S. court
document. Indexed Finance's leaders traced the attack back to Mr. Medjedovic,
and made him an offer: Return 90 per cent of the funds, keep the rest as a so-
called "bug bounty" -- a reward for having identified an error in the code --
and all would be forgiven. Mr. Medjedovic would then be free to launch his
career as a white hat, or ethical, hacker. Mr. Medjedovic didn't take the
deal. His social media posts hinted, without overtly stating, that he
believed that because he had operated within the confines of the code, he was
entitled to the funds -- a controversial philosophy in the world of
decentralized finance known as "Code is Law." But instead of testing that
argument in court, Mr. Medjedovic went into hiding. By the time authorities
arrived on a quiet residential street in Hamilton to search his parents'
townhouse less than two months later, Mr. Medjedovic had moved out, taking
his electronic devices with him. Then, roughly two years later, he struck
again, netting an even larger sum -- approximately $48.4-million -- by
conducting a similar exploit on another decentralized finance platform, U.S.
authorities allege. Mr. Medjedovic, now 22, faces five criminal charges --
including wire fraud, attempted extortion and money laundering -- according
to a U.S. federal court document that was unsealed earlier this year. If
convicted, he could be facing decades in prison. First, authorities will have
to find him.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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