CBC’s the fifth estate reports that Canadian crypto figure Andean Medjedovic has travelled extensively since disappearing from Canada in 2021, while facing allegations tied to major cryptocurrency exploits and an international manhunt. Court records from Serbia outline alleged use of fake passports, large-scale crypto proceeds, and efforts to avoid extradition after an arrest in Belgrade.
Court records obtained by CBC’s the fifth estate describe the movements and online footprint of Andean Medjedovic, a Canadian citizen from Hamilton who is wanted in connection with large cryptocurrency exploits and has reportedly been at large since leaving Canada in late 2021.
According to the reporting, Dutch authorities issued a European arrest warrant in December 2023 alleging Medjedovic carried out a sophisticated cryptocurrency hack tied to tens of millions of U.S. dollars. He was later arrested in Belgrade, Serbia, and appeared before a judge. Documents from Serbian extradition proceedings provide a detailed look at the travel history and identity documents allegedly associated with him, including claims involving fake passports and alternate names used while staying in hotels.
The article describes how Medjedovic is alleged to have drained funds from two crypto platforms through complex trading activity enabled by large amounts of borrowed capital. Investigators and industry analysts cited in the report explain that such schemes can create artificial market conditions that allow valuable crypto assets to be acquired at drastically reduced cost, resulting in significant losses for victims.
CBC reports that after one of the alleged attacks, publicly visible messages were sent to the affected platform, escalating the matter beyond theft into alleged extortion-related conduct. The report also references concerns about offensive and extremist-coded material allegedly embedded in digital traces connected to the activity. (No specific language is repeated.)
The fifth estate’s reporting further outlines how authorities tracked alleged activity to specific locations and travel records, including claims that a hotel stay in The Hague coincided with suspicious online activity linked to the hack. The report says Medjedovic later travelled through multiple countries and that an Interpol Red Notice was issued.
After spending time in Serbian custody, Serbian court decisions described in the reporting indicate he was released and the Dutch extradition request was denied on grounds including the evidentiary threshold and the way the alleged conduct would be treated under domestic law. A subsequent U.S. filing cited in the report suggested he was believed to be at large in Bosnia.
Experts cited by CBC emphasize that even where cryptocurrency can be moved through obfuscation tools designed to hide transactional trails, investigators with the right capabilities may still track activity over time—making long-term evasion difficult while living and operating in the modern digital economy.
