PANews reported on May 4th that the US law firm Gerstein Harrow LLP has filed for a restraining order in a New York district court, attempting to prevent the Arbitrum DAO from transferring 30,766 ETH (worth over $73 million) frozen due to the $292 million attack on the Kelp protocol. The firm stated that its clients obtained default judgments against North Korea in three cases in 2010, 2015, and 2016, seeking a total of $877 million in damages and punitive damages, and asserted that its clients have claims against related North Korean assets.

Kelp DAO suffered a hacking attack on April 18, believed to have been carried out by the TraderTraitor group, a subsidiary of the North Korean-backed hacking organization Lazarus Group. To protect the victims' interests, the Arbitrum Security Committee immediately froze the relevant Ethereum assets.

However, Gerstein Harrow's actions could further prolong the recovery of funds for Kelp victims. Arbitrum DAO member Zeptimus stated that if the law firm successfully prevents the return of funds, it would shift North Korea's debt onto Kelp DAO victims, exacerbating their losses rather than resolving the issue.

It is worth noting that Gerstein Harrow has made similar claims against North Korean-related crypto assets on multiple occasions before, including a claim in February of this year against funds frozen in the 2023 Heco Bridge attack.