U.S. Court Approves Aave Transfer of $71 Million ETH Value in Connection with North Korean Hack

**On May 9, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett approved Aave’s asset recovery plan following the rsETH exploit, clearing the transfer of ~$71 million in ETH—previously frozen on Arbitrum—to a wallet controlled by Aave.** Court filings reveal the ruling adjusted the prior restraining order against Arbitrum DAO, enabling the community to complete the ETH transfer via an on-chain governance vote—while waiving legal liability for those voting and executing the transfer. The incident stemmed from the April rsETH exploit, widely linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Earlier, lawyers representing victims of North Korean terrorism had pushed to freeze the assets and sought to include them in an ~$877 million outstanding judgment. The Arbitrum community showed overwhelming support in a Snapshot temperature check vote to return the frozen ETH to Aave’s recovery plan, though formal on-chain governance approval is still required for the actual transfer. The case also forms part of U.S. plaintiffs’ efforts to recover crypto assets tied to North Korea. Beyond Arbitrum, the plaintiffs previously sued privacy protocol Railgun DAO, naming Digital Currency Group (DCG) as a defendant and alleging its involvement in related governance and economic activities.