Richard Heart arrested in Istanbul on Interpol Red Notice from Finland
Regulation & Gov ·
Turkish authorities detained the HEX founder and his wife in a surveillance-led operation, seizing over $7 million in cash and assets.
Richard James Schueler, who goes by Richard Heart, was taken into custody on Wednesday morning in Istanbul's Beşiktaş district along with his wife, identified only as A.K. The operation was carried out by Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization and Istanbul police, with involvement from the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, after technical and physical tracking pinpointed his location. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek confirmed the arrest, which was carried out under an Interpol Red Notice requested by Finland over allegations of large-scale crypto fraud, according to CryptoPotato.
Searches of the property turned up more than $7 million in cash across multiple currencies, along with phones, laptops, graphics cards, SSDs, firearms, ammunition, drones, and gold jewelry. The Block reported that Turkish police put the seized cash figure at $7.15 million and said six cold wallets were also recovered in the raid, a detail that adds to the inventory described by other outlets covering the arrest.
The case ties back to a 2023 action by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which charged Heart along with three ventures under his control — Hex, PulseChain and PulseX — for allegedly selling unregistered crypto securities that brought in more than $1 billion from investors. The SEC also accused Heart and PulseChain of fraud, claiming at least $12 million in proceeds was diverted toward personal luxury purchases, including sports cars, high-end watches, and a 555-carat black diamond referred to as The Enigma, said to be among the largest black diamonds known. That lawsuit was dismissed in 2025 by a US federal judge on jurisdictional grounds, and the SEC chose not to refile an amended complaint.
Market reaction to the arrest was immediate: HEX dropped nearly 50%, falling from roughly $0.00090 to $0.00046 within a single day on October 14, before partially recovering to trade near $0.00060.
With two outlets now confirming the seizure figures and the six cold wallets, attention turns to what charges Finnish authorities intend to pursue, how extradition proceedings might unfold, and whether the recovered wallets and devices yield further evidence connected to the dismissed SEC case.