Hex's Richard Heart Lands in Turkish Custody, Carrying $4M in Cash and 64 Watches He Won't Need ⌚

Richard Heart, the crypto entrepreneur behind Hex, PulseChain and PulseX, was detained in Istanbul on Wednesday alongside his wife in a joint operation by Istanbul police and Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Turkish news agency IHA reported via Daily Sabah. Heart, whose legal name is Richard James Schueler, was taken into custody at an address in Istanbul's Beşiktaş district that officers had been monitoring.

Authorities seized a dozen mobile phones, several laptops, graphics cards, rifles, pistols, two drones, gold bracelets and a large amount of cash in multiple currencies, according to IHA. Turkish media separately reported that the haul included $4 million in cash and 64 luxury watches, though police have yet to confirm those specific figures.

The arrest stems from an Interpol Red Notice issued for Schueler in 2024 at the request of Finland, listing a single charge of aggravated tax fraud, with Finnish authorities also seeking him over an alleged assault. Interpol describes a Red Notice as "a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition or similar legal action," and notes it is not an international arrest warrant. It was not immediately clear whether Finland has requested Heart's extradition from Turkey.

Heart launched Hex in 2018, marketing it as a high-yield "blockchain certificate of deposit." In 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Heart and three entities he controlled, Hex, PulseChain and PulseX, with conducting unregistered offerings of crypto asset securities that raised more than $1 billion. The SEC also accused him of misappropriating at least $12 million of investor funds to buy luxury goods, including sports cars, watches and a 555-carat black diamond known as "The Enigma."

A federal judge dismissed the SEC complaint in February 2025 for lack of jurisdiction, finding that Heart's activities were not clearly aimed at U.S. investors, and the agency declined to amend it by an April deadline, ending the case. Heart's lawyer called the outcome "a complete victory."