Arbitrum DAO votes to release $70M in frozen ETH for Kelp DAO recovery — but a court order blocks the move!

Arbitrum DAO voted overwhelmingly to release 30,765.6 ETH — roughly $70 million — to DeFi United, the restitution coalition formed after last month's $292 million Kelp DAO exploit. The vote passed with 182.2 million votes in favour, representing 90.96% of voting power, positioning Arbitrum as the largest single donor to the recovery effort.

The transfer is now frozen in legal limbo. A May 1 court order bars Arbitrum DAO from moving the funds, filed by plaintiffs in years-old terrorism judgments against North Korea who are seeking the ETH as restitution — citing suspicions that the April 18 attack was carried out by Lazarus Group. Crypto attorney Gabriel Shapiro confirmed the DAO cannot act until a divestiture hearing.

Aave LLC has filed an emergency federal motion challenging the order, arguing the Lazarus attribution remains unproven and that temporary possession of stolen assets…