stablekh

Not nearly enough people are talking about this?!?! Terrorism judgment holders just sued the crypto mixer Railgun for allegedly laundering North Korean hacker proceeds… and Railgun ignored the case and is now in default. Filed January 21, 2026 in D.D.C. (Kim et al. v. Railgun DAO, 1:26-cv-00179). The plaintiffs are families holding roughly $865M in judgments against North Korea for the 2000 abduction, torture, and murder of U.S. permanent resident pastor Dong Shik Kim, and for North Korea’s material support of Hezbollah’s 2006 rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. They argue Railgun (which they say is a general partnership, not a true DAO) operated as an illegal money transmitter and laundered DPRK/Lazarus Group funds (including $60M+ from the Harmony Bridge hack in January 2023 and proceeds from the 2025 Bybit heist). Per the complaint (citing Elliptic), North Korean activity made up ~70% of Railgun’s volume as of mid-2024. They say Railgun had the duty and ability to freeze the assets under sanctions and money-transmission laws so the plaintiffs could seize them to collect on their judgments. Instead it processed the transfers and collected fees. Claims include RICO, unlicensed money transmission (18 U.S.C. § 1960), money laundering, and negligence. Court authorized alternative service (email, X, certified mail to founders). No response from Railgun. Clerk’s entry of default entered April 2026; motion for default judgment is pending. (Digital Currency Group later moved to quash service, claiming it was improperly treated as a partner.)