Turkish media reported Wednesday that Richard Heart, the founder of Hex and PulseChain, was detained in Istanbul during an operation involving Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, known as MİT, and local police. The reports said authorities seized about $4 million in cash, 64 luxury watches and electronic devices from a residence in the Beşiktaş district.
Heart, whose legal name is Richard James Schueler, has long been a polarizing figure in cryptocurrency because of the scale of his token projects, his high-profile online persona and a series of legal disputes across several jurisdictions. Turkish authorities had not publicly confirmed the detention at the time of the reports, and the reports did not cite confirmation from Istanbul police or Interpol.
The development places fresh attention on the legal pressure surrounding Heart after a U.S. securities case against him ended earlier this year. It also triggered a sharp sell-off in tokens associated with his projects, which had already lost most of their value from previous peaks.
Turkish reports describe Istanbul operation
The Turkish coverage said Heart was taken into custody at a property in Beşiktaş, an affluent district on Istanbul’s European side. The reports described a joint operation by MİT and police, though the precise agency roles, the legal basis for the action and whether a court ordered further detention were not specified.
Authorities were said to have removed cash, watches and electronic equipment from the residence. Images circulated by Turkish outlets showed watches that appeared consistent with luxury timepieces Heart had frequently displayed on social media.
In a 2022 post, Heart showed a collection of 32 watches that was described at the time as being worth $10 million. The alleged seizure of 64 watches would therefore represent one of the more visible elements of the reported operation, given how closely luxury goods have been tied to his public image.
The source material also made claims about the detention of Heart’s wife and the seizure of weapons, drones, gold bracelets and other items. Those assertions were not supported by an official Turkish statement in the information provided and could not be independently established.
Finnish allegations and Interpol notice
Schueler is reportedly sought in connection with allegations of aggravated tax fraud raised by Finnish authorities. Turkish media said the case is associated with an Interpol Red Notice.
An Interpol Red Notice is a request circulated among law-enforcement authorities worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person wanted by a national jurisdiction. It does not itself function as an international arrest warrant, and each country applies its own laws and procedures when deciding whether to act on one.
The reported Turkish operation could begin a separate legal process over whether Finland seeks Schueler’s extradition. That decision would be handled through Turkish courts and government authorities, rather than by Interpol itself.
The supplied account included claims that Finnish authorities were seeking several hundred million euros in unpaid taxes related to activity between June 2020 and April 2024. It did not provide a Finnish charging document, court filing or statement from prosecutors establishing those figures. It also included an allegation of physical assault charges without identifying the relevant jurisdiction or legal record.
SEC case was dismissed in 2025
Heart faced a separate civil case in the United States after the Securities and Exchange Commission sued him in July 2023. The regulator alleged that Heart raised more than $1 billion through unregistered offerings tied to Hex, PulseChain and PulseX, and accused him of misappropriating millions of dollars in proceeds for luxury purchases.
U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon dismissed the SEC’s lawsuit in February 2025. Her ruling found that the complaint did not sufficiently establish that the allegedly unlawful conduct was connected to the United States in a way that would allow the court to exercise jurisdiction.
The SEC later chose not to file an amended complaint. In an April 2025 filing, the agency said it would not pursue a revised version of the case after the dismissal.
That outcome ended the SEC’s action without resolving the agency’s underlying allegations on their merits. It also did not address the reported Finnish tax case, which concerns a different jurisdiction and a different set of alleged conduct.
Hex and PulseChain tokens slide
Tokens associated with Heart fell after the Istanbul detention reports emerged. Hex, the token at the center of Heart’s first major cryptocurrency project, was already trading far below its 2021 high of roughly $0.44. The supplied market figures said it fell about 25% on the day of the reports and traded at fractions of a cent.
PulseChain’s PLS token also declined, with the supplied account putting its 24-hour loss at about 35%. PulseChain launched in 2023 as an Ethereum-compatible network designed to offer lower transaction costs and a separate ecosystem for applications and tokens.
The declines add to prolonged losses across both assets. The source material said Hex had fallen more than 99% from its all-time high, while PLS was down nearly 98% from its early trading levels.
Such moves reflect the concentration of these ecosystems around their founder. Heart’s projects have built communities that emphasize long-term token holding and ecosystem loyalty, but their market performance remains closely linked to legal developments and public attention around him.
The reported detention now creates a new source of uncertainty for holders of Hex, PLS and related PulseChain assets, while Turkish and Finnish authorities have yet to publicly set out the next procedural steps.
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