Hex Founder Richard Heart Detained in Istanbul on Red Notice

Richard Heart, founder of the Hex and PulseChain tokens, was reportedly detained in Istanbul alongside his wife on an Interpol Red Notice requested by Finland, Turkish media reported.

Turkish news agency IHA and the newspaper Daily Sabah said police detained Heart, whose legal name is Richard James Schueler, in the Beşiktaş district on Wednesday morning at a residence officers had been monitoring. Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, MİT, supported the operation by Istanbul police’s intelligence and financial-crimes units, which IHA said was coordinated by Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

What was reportedly seized

The Turkish outlet Haberler said police took about $4 million in cash and 64 luxury watches from the apartment, along with firearms, computers and crypto mining equipment. Euronews reported the seizure also included three handguns, four rifles, 1,360 rounds of ammunition and a dagger. A post on X put the cash at $600,000 and the watches at 24. Istanbul police and Interpol had not confirmed the figures, and Turkish authorities have released no official inventory.

The Red Notice was issued in December 2024 at Finland’s request over alleged aggravated tax fraud. A Red Notice asks police worldwide to locate a person pending extradition; it is not an arrest warrant, and a subject remains presumed innocent. Finnish authorities have also sought Schueler over an allegation of assault, which he has not been convicted of.

A legal saga that moved to Helsinki

The detention moves Heart’s legal troubles across the Atlantic. In 2023 the US Securities and Exchange Commission charged Heart, Hex, PulseChain and PulseX with unregistered securities offerings that it alleged raised more than $1 billion, and it accused him of spending at least $12 million of investor funds on sports cars, watches and a 555-carat black diamond called The Enigma. Those were allegations in a civil case: a federal judge dismissed it in February 2025 for lack of personal jurisdiction, and the SEC declined to amend its complaint that April.

Hex token prices fell sharply on the detention reports, with declines reported between 25% and 45%, and the PulseChain token PLS dropped 35% in a day. Hex already traded for fractions of a cent, down more than 99% from its 2021 high of about $0.44.

Turkish media reported the investigation into Schueler and his wife continues, and no extradition to Finland has been established.