Richard Heart, the founder of HEX, PulseChain and PulseX (a token, a blockchain and a decentralized exchange, respectively), has reportedly been detained in Istanbul as part of a joint operation by Turkish intelligence and police targeting individuals wanted internationally.

Heart, whose legal name is Richard James Schueler, was taken into custody on October 14 together with his wife at a residence in Istanbul's Beşiktaş district. The operation was carried out by the Istanbul police's Intelligence Branch and Financial Crimes Department, with support from Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT).

According to Turkish media reports, authorities located Heart through surveillance connected to an Interpol Red Notice requested by Finland, where he has faced a separate criminal investigation involving suspected aggravated tax fraud and assault. As Interpol describes it, a Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action, and it is not itself an arrest warrant.

Police Seize $600,000, Firearms and Luxury Assets

The October 14 raid resulted in the seizure of substantial quantities of cash, firearms, jewelry and electronic equipment. Items recovered from the residence reportedly included:

• Cash: $600,000, €2,600 and 50,000 Turkish lira
• Weapons: three handguns, four long-barreled firearms, seven magazines and 1,360 rounds of ammunition
• Luxury assets: 24 wristwatches, 20 gold bracelets and seven gold necklaces
• Electronics: 12 mobile phones, eight desktop computer units, six laptops, 20 graphics cards and 14 SSDs
• Additional equipment: two drones, seven USB drives, three memory cards and a knife

The seized property was documented during the police operation, while Heart and his wife were taken into custody for questioning. Turkish reporting has not established whether prosecutors have filed new domestic criminal charges against the pair or whether extradition proceedings have formally begun. In Red Notice cases, extradition decisions rest with the authorities of the country holding the detainee, so any next procedural steps would play out in the Turkish legal system.

Finland Sought Heart Over Tax Fraud and Assault Allegations

Heart had been the subject of a Finnish criminal investigation since 2024. Finnish authorities suspected him of failing to declare income connected to his cryptocurrency businesses, with the alleged unpaid taxes potentially amounting to hundreds of millions of euros.

Helsinki police investigator Harri Saaristola confirmed the investigation in September 2024, explaining that the suspected tax violations involved discrepancies between Heart's declarations and income identified by the Finnish Tax Administration.

The Helsinki District Court ordered Heart's detention in absentia on September 13, 2024, over suspected aggravated tax fraud and assault. The suspected tax offenses covered the period from June 2020 through April 2024, while the separate assault allegation concerned an incident in February 2021. Heart subsequently became the subject of an Interpol Red Notice requested by Finland in December 2024.

SEC's $1 Billion Case Against Heart Was Dismissed in 2025

Heart also faced a major U.S. securities enforcement case involving HEX, PulseChain and PulseX. In July 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Heart and his crypto projects, alleging that they raised more than $1 billion through unregistered securities offerings. The regulator additionally accused Heart of misappropriating at least $12 million in investor funds for luxury purchases, including sports cars, expensive watches and a 555-carat black diamond known as The Enigma.\nThe U.S. proceedings, however, ended in Heart's favor. On February 28, 2025, a federal judge dismissed the SEC lawsuit, finding that the agency had failed to establish grounds for applying U.S. securities laws to the alleged conduct. The SEC subsequently declined to file an amended complaint in April 2025, ending the enforcement action without a finding of liability against Heart.

The Turkish detention concerns the international search connected to the Finnish proceedings, not the dismissed U.S. SEC case. As of the initial October 14 reports, Heart and his wife remained in police custody for questioning, with Turkish authorities continuing their investigation. Whether Turkish prosecutors file domestic charges and whether Finland moves to formalize an extradition request will determine the next stage of a case that now spans three jurisdictions.