Laywer pops up on Arbitrum DAO forums seeking funds for victims of decades-old North Korean terrorist acts
Families holding decades-old judgments against North Korea are trying to seize 30,765 ETH frozen after last month’s rsETH exploit, citing alleged links between the attack and DPRK-linked hacking groups such as Lazarus, and invoking a New York restraining notice that could block Arbitrum from releasing the funds.
What to know:
- A lawyer representing victims of North Korean terrorism has served Arbitrum DAO with a New York restraining notice, seeking to block the release of 30,765 ETH frozen after the rsETH exploit by claiming it is DPRK-linked property.
- The filing names Arbitrum DAO as a garnishee in three federal enforcement actions tied to long-standing judgments totaling about $877 million against North Korea, warning that moving the funds could expose those controlling the assets to contempt of court.
- Some Arbitrum delegates argue the ETH is stolen property that should be returned to rsETH depositors, framing the dispute as a choice between compensating recent DeFi victims and satisfying decades-old terrorism-related judgments against Pyongyang.
The governance post, authored by attorney Charles Gerstein, serves as a restraining notice under New York law on behalf of three sets of judgment creditors holding roughly $877 million in claims against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The claims behind the filing stretch back decades. One stems from the 1972 Lod Airport massacre in Israel, where gunmen killed 26 people, including 17 Puerto Rican pilgrims, in an attack later found by a U.S. court to have been supported by North Korea.
Another involves Reverend Kim Dong Shik, a U.S. permanent resident abducted near the China border in 2000 and later killed in DPRK custody. A third ties to the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, where a federal judge found Pyongyang had supplied weapons and training used in rocket attacks.
