Overview
- Aave LLC filed an emergency motion in New York on Monday seeking to lift a court restraint on 30,766 ETH, arguing the funds belong to users and asking for a fast hearing or a $300 million bond if the freeze stays.
- The Southern District of New York restraint, served Friday through Arbitrum’s governance forum, blocks any transfer of the ETH that Arbitrum’s Security Council seized after the KelpDAO exploit.
- Under New York law, a restraining notice can freeze assets once served, and the court also signed writs of execution that warn of contempt if the funds move.
- Plaintiffs holding roughly $877 million in unpaid terrorism judgments against North Korea say the ether is tied to the Lazarus Group and qualifies as property in which the DPRK has an interest under federal terror‑victim enforcement laws.
- Arbitrum’s Security Council had moved the funds into a governance wallet after the April 18 KelpDAO bridge hack, so Aave’s DeFi United recovery plan and DAO votes remain on hold while the court decides who controls the assets.