FlagThis - #moneylaundering

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Andean Medjedovic, a 22-year-old Canadian national, with stealing approximately $65 million in cryptocurrency. Medjedovic allegedly exploited vulnerabilities in the automated smart contracts used by the KyberSwap and Indexed Finance decentralized finance protocols. He reportedly withdrew millions of dollars of investor funds from the protocols at artificial prices, rendering the victims’ investments essentially worthless.

Medjedovic is also accused of laundering the proceeds of his fraudulent schemes through a series of transactions designed to conceal the source and ownership of the funds, including through swap transactions, bridging transactions, and the use of a digital assets mixer. The indictment also alleges that he attempted to extort the victims of the KyberSwap exploit. Medjedovic faces charges including wire fraud, unauthorized damage to a protected computer, attempted Hobbs Act extortion, money laundering conspiracy, and money laundering. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on the unauthorized damage charge and 20 years on each of the other counts.


References :

• BleepingComputer: The U.S. Justice Department has charged a Canadian man with stealing roughly $65 million after exploiting two decentralized finance (DeFI) protocols.
• securityonline.info: Canadian Hacker Indicted for $65 Million DeFi Exploit
• Cyber Security News: Cybersecurity News article about the Canadian national charged with stealing $65 million in crypto.
• securityonline.info: Details about the criminal indictment.
• www.justice.gov: U.S. Department of Justice : 22 year old Canadian national Andean Medjedovic was charged with exploiting vulnerabilities in the automated smart contracts used by the KyberSwap and Indexed Finance decentralized finance protocols to withdraw approximately $65 million from investor funds. Medjedovic also allegedly laundered the proceeds of his fraudulent schemes through a series of transactions designed to conceal the source and ownership of the funds, using bridging transactions and crypto mixers. The indictment cites: Wire fraud, unauthorized damage to a protected computer, attempted Hobbs Act extortion, money laundering conspiracy, and money laundering.
• DataBreaches.Net: Canadian man charged in $65 million cryptocurrency hacking schemes
• www.bleepingcomputer.com: Report on the exploit of KyberSwap and Indexed Finance.
• www.justice.gov: Original DOJ report about the incident.
• CryptoSlate: KyberSwap exploiter gets five-count criminal indictment after stealing $65M
• cryptoslate.com: KyberSwap exploiter gets five-count criminal indictment after stealing $65M
• Help Net Security: Man charged with stealing $65 million by exploting DeFI protocols vulnerabilities
• www.helpnetsecurity.com: Man charged with stealing $65 million by exploting DeFI protocols vulnerabilities
• hackread.com: News report on the alleged DeFi hack.

Classification:

• HashTags: #DeFiHack #CryptocurrencyTheft #MoneyLaundering
• Company: KyberSwap, Indexed Finance
• Target: KyberSwap, Indexed Finance, investors
• Attacker: Andean Medjedovic
• Product: KyberSwap, Indexed Finance
• Feature: Smart Contracts
• Type: DataBreach
• Severity: Major

Operation Destabilise, a multi-national operation led by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), has successfully disrupted a massive Russian money laundering network. The operation, spanning years, uncovered two key organizations, Smart and TGR, facilitating billions of dollars in illicit funds for various criminal enterprises. These included drug traffickers, ransomware gangs like Ryuk (responsible for extorting at least £27 million from 149 UK organizations), and potentially sanctioned Russian elites, highlighting the complex web of international financial crime. The operation resulted in 84 arrests, the seizure of £20 million in cash and cryptocurrency, and sanctions imposed by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against key figures and entities involved.

The NCA investigation revealed a previously unseen link between Russian elites, cybercriminals, and street-level drug gangs in the UK. Smart and TGR provided crucial services, enabling the movement of illicit funds across borders and converting cryptocurrency into cash. Their reach extended across the UK, Middle East, Russia, and South America, demonstrating the global scope of their operations. The disruption of these networks represents a significant blow to organized crime, showcasing the importance of international collaboration in combating economic crime and cybercrime.


References :

• securityaffairs.com: Operation Destabilise dismantled Russian money laundering networks
• The Hacker News: NCA Busts Russian Crypto Networks Laundering Funds and Evading Sanctions
• therecord.media: Russian money laundering networks uncovered linking narco traffickers, ransomware gangs and Kremlin spies

Classification:

• HashTags: #MoneyLaundering #Cybercrime #OperationDestabilise
• Target: Financial systems globally
• Feature: Money laundering
• Type: Financial Crime
• Severity: Major