Aave Wins Emergency Hearing Over ₱4.38 billion ($71 million) Frozen Hack Funds
Han Kim and Yong Kim, relatives of a South Korean minister abducted by North Korean agents in 2000, served a restraining order Friday freezing ₱4.38 billion ($71 million) in crypto that Aave recovered from the Kelp DAO hack. The Kims hold a ₱20.36 billion ($330 million) federal judgment against North Korea from 2015 and claim the stolen assets belong to the regime.
Key Takeaway
Federal court will decide if victims can claim hacker-owned assets, setting precedent for crypto recovery rights.
Aave secured an emergency hearing Wednesday at 11 am before Judge Margaret Garnett in New York's Southern District Court to void a restraining order that froze ₱4.38 billion ($71 million) in recovered crypto.
Attorneys representing Han Kim and Yong Kim — relatives of a South Korean minister abducted and killed by North Korean agents in 2000 — served the restraining order on Arbitrum DAO Friday evening. The Kims hold a ₱20.36 billion ($330 million) federal judgment against North Korea from 2015. They claim the frozen assets belong to North Korea because hackers allegedly linked to the regime stole nearly $300 million in rsETH from Kelp DAO on April 18.
Aave founder Stani Kulechov rejected the claim that stolen property belongs to the thief. In court filings Monday, Aave LLC argued that the victims showed up with conjecture from internet posts claiming North Korea was the thief, and that by stealing assets for a few hours, North Korea somehow became the rightful owner. The company warned that if the frozen assets remain unavailable to restore value to Aave Protocol users, the entire DeFi ecosystem risks being destabilized. The filing also argued that no one would dare stop a thief from stealing funds if the reward for being a Good Samaritan was a legal battle.
Arbitrum DAO began voting Thursday to transfer the recovered assets to a community fund, with the vote scheduled to end May 7. Arbitrum Foundation said in a governance forum post that it is carefully evaluating next steps in consultation with counsel to ensure any response aligns with the long-term interests of the Arbitrum community.
Judge Garnett set a Tuesday noon deadline for plaintiffs to respond to Aave's emergency motion, with the frozen funds representing crypto that Arbitrum DAO immobilized after the April 18 hack.
This article was written based on reporting from Dlnews.
