Turkish authorities detained Hex and PulseChain founder Richard Heart in Istanbul on Oct. 14, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said, following an operation that reportedly seized $7.15 million in cash, six cold wallets, firearms, luxury goods and other assets. The arrest places one of crypto’s most polarizing founders at the center of a cross-border legal case involving a Finnish Interpol Red Notice and separate past allegations in the United States.
Heart, whose legal name is Richard James Schueler, was detained alongside his wife during an operation in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district, Gürlek said. Three people described by the minister as Heart’s bodyguards were also taken into custody.
The operation was carried out by Istanbul’s chief prosecutor’s office, police intelligence and financial-crimes units, with support from Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, known as MİT, according to Gürlek. Judicial proceedings and examinations of the seized material remain underway.
Searches covered 15 addresses across Istanbul
Authorities searched 15 locations in the Istanbul districts of Beşiktaş, Üsküdar and Sarıyer, Gürlek said. The searches recovered 160,000 Turkish lira, 28 watches, 97 pieces of jewelry, 300 bags and 19 graphics cards.
Police also seized seven firearms—four long-barreled rifles and three unlicensed pistols—along with 1,400 rounds of ammunition, Gürlek said. The minister also reported the seizure of six cold wallets, devices used to store cryptocurrency keys offline.
Anadolu Agency separately reported that Turkish authorities impounded nine vehicles registered to Heart’s wife after the detentions.
Some initial accounts of the operation differed from the figures later provided by the justice minister. Reports published on Oct. 14 put the seized cash at $4 million and listed 64 luxury watches, while Gürlek subsequently cited $7.15 million in cash and 28 watches among the materials recovered. Turkish authorities have not publicly detailed the contents or ownership of the six seized wallets.
Finnish red notice adds an international dimension
Gürlek said Schueler has been subject to an Interpol Red Notice issued at Finland’s request since December 2024. He linked the notice to allegations involving $1 billion in cryptocurrency fraud in the United States and Finland.
A Red Notice is an Interpol alert requesting that police worldwide locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition or similar legal action. It is not itself an international arrest warrant, and the decision to detain or extradite a subject rests with national authorities and courts.
Finnish authorities have sought Schueler on suspicion of gross tax evasion and assault under the December 2024 notice. The allegations include claims related to hundreds of millions of euros that were allegedly concealed between June 2020 and April 2024, according to the material surrounding the case.
Gürlek did not state whether Finland had submitted a formal extradition request to Turkey. That procedural question could determine whether the Istanbul case develops into a Turkish prosecution, an extradition proceeding, or both.
The detention creates a more immediate legal challenge for Heart than the civil enforcement case he previously faced in the United States. In February 2025, a U.S. federal judge dismissed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Schueler on jurisdictional grounds. The SEC declined to file the case again in April.
That dismissal did not resolve the allegations behind the Finnish notice, which concerns different claims and a separate legal system. It also did not prevent Turkish authorities from acting on the Interpol alert cited by Gürlek.
Hex and related tokens face sharp volatility
The news triggered a rapid sell-off in tokens associated with Heart’s ecosystem. Hex, the Ethereum-based token launched in 2019, fell about 14% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data cited in the supplied material.
Separate market accounts described a much steeper intraday decline in Heart’s principal token, saying its market value lost roughly $160 million and its price dropped as much as 64% within hours. Tokens connected to the broader Hex and PulseChain network were also reported to have declined by nearly half over the same stretch of trading.
The differing percentage figures may reflect distinct measurement periods, assets, or liquidity venues. Smaller crypto assets can record sharply different prices across markets, especially during a sudden rush to sell. Thin order books—where relatively few buy and sell orders are available near the current price—can amplify price moves when large holders or many traders try to exit at once.
The episode also underscores the exposure created when a token’s public profile, community and perceived direction are closely tied to one founder. Heart has been an unusually visible figure in the Hex and PulseChain communities, and the detention immediately turned legal headlines into a market event for assets associated with his name.
Legal process may shape the next phase
The seizure of cold wallets could become a central issue as Turkish authorities review the assets collected during the operation. A cold wallet can hold the private keys needed to control crypto holdings, though possession of a wallet device alone does not establish the balance, ownership, or accessibility of any digital assets linked to it.
For holders of Hex, PulseChain-linked tokens and related assets, the near-term issue is likely to be market liquidity as well as price direction. Large percentage moves can make quoted prices difficult to execute in practice if there is limited demand at those levels.
The next substantive developments will come from Turkish judicial proceedings and any extradition communication involving Finland. Heart’s detention has turned a long-running set of legal allegations into an active enforcement case, while leaving his token ecosystem exposed to unusually high volatility and unanswered questions over leadership, assets and legal jurisdiction.
Protect your holdings after the Hex turmoil—learn the essentials of secure crypto storage before the next crisis hits.
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