Wow—news about the way Arbtrium froze funds belonging to North Korean hackers has taken an even more dramatic turn. A federal court in New York, U.S., has issued a ruling ordering Arbtrium to compensate a group of Americans who have been persecuted by North Korea 🤣.

The background is that over the past few decades, North Korea has faced collective lawsuits from many groups of people with U.S. citizenship because of its actions such as terrorism and illegal hostage-taking. However, the North Korean government has never paid compensation on its own, so these plaintiffs have, worldwide, been looking for assets belonging to North Korea—and then requesting that the U.S. government seize them to cover compensation. Before this, there had already been many successful cases. The most famous example is from 2017: U.S. college student Otto was arrested after being caught stealing a poster while traveling in North Korea, and he ultimately died. After his parents sued North Korea and won, a U.S. court ruled that North Korea should pay $500 million in damages, but North Korea ignored the ruling. In the following years, the U.S. government intercepted a large North Korean cargo ship, auctioned the ship off directly, and delivered the proceeds to his parents.

Well, the matter of Arbitrum freezing funds belonging to North Korean hackers has taken a more dramatic turn. A federal court in New York, USA, has issued a ruling ordering Arbitrum to compensate a group of Americans who have been persecuted by North Korea with the frozen funds 🤣.

The background is that over the past few decades, North Korea has faced collective lawsuits filed by many people with U.S. citizenship due to actions such as terrorism and illegal hostage-taking. However, the North Korean government has never proactively paid compensation. So these plaintiffs searched globally for assets belonging to North Korea, then demanded the U.S. government seize and apply them toward compensation. Before this, there were many successful cases. The most famous example is that in 2017, when U.S. college student Otto traveled in North Korea, he was arrested and later died after stealing a propaganda poster. After his parents sued North Korea and won, a U.S. court ordered North Korea to pay $500 million in damages. North Korea ignored it, and in the following years the U.S. government intercepted a large North Korean cargo ship, auctioned off the vessel, and then sent the proceeds to his parents.

Now, after the money stolen by the North Korean hackers from AAVE was frozen by Arbitrum, these plaintiffs argued that since the funds belong to North Korea, they should be compensated to them. So the U.S. court acted forcefully again. First, it required Arbitrum to cooperate by holding the funds and waiting for the court’s next instructions; during this period, there must be absolutely no movement. In the ruling, the Arbitrum DAO was characterized as a partnership and the validity of service was confirmed. If Arbitrum fails to comply, it will be charged with contempt of court. Relevant specific members, such as the key vote leaders within the DAO, will face compulsory measures.