Richard Heart, the founder of the crypto projects HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX, was reportedly detained in Istanbul on October 14 in a joint operation by Turkish police and intelligence officers acting on an Interpol Red Notice requested by Finland.
The HEX token fell almost 45% on the news, according to Protos. The reports come from Turkish media, and no Turkish or Finnish authority has publicly confirmed the detention yet.
What Happened in Istanbul
According to Daily Sabah, citing the Turkish news agency İhlas (IHA), police and Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) detained Heart, whose legal name is Richard James Schueler, along with his wife on Wednesday morning. Officers had monitored his address in the Beşiktaş district through technical and physical surveillance before moving in. The operation was reportedly coordinated by Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, financial crimes investigators, and Interpol.
Reports on what was seized vary by outlet. İhlas described a dozen mobile phones, several laptops, graphics cards, rifles, pistols, two drones, gold bracelets, and a large amount of cash in different currencies. Other outlets mention luxury watches including Rolexes, and some report specific cash and weapon counts. Because those figures differ and have not been officially confirmed, treat them as reported rather than established.
Why Finland Wants Him
Interpol published the Red Notice in December 2024 at Finland’s request. A Finnish court had ordered his detention in absentia in September 2024. According to reporting, the notice concerns aggravated tax fraud involving alleged unpaid taxes of hundreds of millions of euros. Finnish authorities have also sought him over an alleged assault on a 16-year-old in 2021. One Turkish account described the notice as relating to high-value cryptocurrency fraud, and Interpol’s public search does not return the notice by name, so its exact wording rests on media reports.
It is worth being precise about what a Red Notice is. It is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate a person and provisionally arrest them pending extradition or similar legal action. It is not an international arrest warrant, and each country decides how to act under its own laws.
Who Is Richard Heart?
Richard Heart is the public name of Richard James Schueler, 47, an American entrepreneur. He launched HEX in 2018, marketing it as a high-yield “blockchain certificate of deposit.” He later created PulseChain, an Ethereum fork, and PulseX, a decentralized exchange that runs on it. Heart became one of crypto’s most recognizable and divisive personalities, known for flamboyant promotion and a large online following.
The SEC Case That Is Now Closed
This arrest is a separate matter from his long-running dispute with U.S. regulators. In July 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Heart and three entities he controlled, Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX, with unregistered offerings of crypto asset securities that raised more than $1 billion. The SEC also accused Heart and PulseChain of misappropriating at least $12 million of offering proceeds on luxury goods, including sports cars, watches, and a 555-carat black diamond known as “The Enigma.”
That case ended in Heart’s favor: in February 2025, U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon dismissed the SEC’s lawsuit. Wednesday’s detention stems from Finland’s request, not the U.S. case.
Market Reaction
HEX plunged almost 45% following news of the arrest, according to Protos. FinanceFeeds noted that HEX and PulseChain operate on blockchain infrastructure that does not necessarily depend on Heart’s direct involvement, but legal uncertainty around a founder can still weigh on investor confidence. No statement from Heart, PulseChain, or Hex on the detention had appeared in the reports reviewed.
What Is Confirmed and What Is Not
– Reported by Turkish media: the detention of Heart and his wife in Beşiktaş on October 14, tied to a Finnish Red Notice.
– Established background: the Red Notice published in December 2024 at Finland’s request, the 2023 SEC suit, and its dismissal in February 2025.
– Not confirmed: official statements from Turkish or Finnish authorities, the exact charges on the notice, and the list and value of seized items.
– Not established: any completed extradition. Whether Turkey would hand Heart to Finland is unclear and would follow Turkish legal procedure.
What Comes Next
The key questions are whether Turkish or Finnish authorities confirm the arrest, whether Finland files a formal extradition request, and how a Turkish court handles it. Extradition proceedings can take months, and Heart would have the right to contest them. For HEX and PulseChain holders, the near-term issues are price volatility and any statement from Heart’s team about how the projects will operate while he is in custody.