- Turkish authorities detained HEX founder Richard James Schueler, known as Richard Heart, and his wife in Istanbul on Oct. 14, 2026, according to media reports.
- Heart was internationally wanted under an Interpol Red Notice issued at Finland’s request.
- Euronews reported that authorities seized cash, firearms, electronics, drones, watches and jewelry during a search.
- As of publication, Turkish police, Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization and Interpol had not separately confirmed the detention.
Turkish authorities detained HEX founder Richard James Schueler, known as Richard Heart, in Istanbul on the morning of Oct. 14, 2026, Daily Sabah reported, citing Turkey’s Ihlas News Agency. Heart was on an international wanted list under an Interpol Red Notice requested by Finland.
According to media reports, officers detained Heart during an operation in Istanbul’s Besiktas district involving the police intelligence directorate and the Istanbul Police Department’s financial crimes unit, with support from Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization, or MIT.
Law enforcement identified Heart’s location and placed his residence under surveillance before detaining him and his wife, identified in the reports by the initials A.K.
During a search, security forces seized 12 mobile phones, computer equipment, graphics cards, data-storage devices, firearms, two drones, jewelry and cash in several currencies, according to the reports.
Euronews reported that the cash included $600,000, €2,600 and 50,000 Turkish lira. Police also confiscated 24 watches, gold jewelry, three pistols and four long guns, it said.
As of publication, no separate official confirmation of the detention could be found from Turkish police, MIT or Interpol.
Legal proceedings in the United States and Finland
In July 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Heart and projects under his control — HEX, PulseChain and PulseX — with offering unregistered crypto securities. The regulator said Heart raised more than $1 billion from investors.
The SEC also alleged that Heart misappropriated at least $12 million. According to the agency’s materials, the money was used to buy luxury goods, including sports cars, expensive watches and the 555-carat black diamond Enigma.
A U.S. federal court dismissed the lawsuit on Feb. 28, 2025, after finding that the SEC had failed to establish the court’s jurisdiction over Heart’s activities outside the United States. In April 2025, the regulator declined to file an amended complaint. The court’s decision did not assess the merits of the SEC’s allegations.
Finnish police separately investigated alleged tax fraud related to Heart’s income from 2020 through 2024. Investigators found significant discrepancies between his tax filings and information collected during an audit, according to the source article.
Finnish investigators also suspected Heart of assaulting a 16-year-old girl in an alleged incident in February 2021.
Finnish authorities issued a detention order for Heart in September 2024. At Finland’s request, Interpol published a Red Notice in December 2024, providing for an international search and the possibility of temporarily detaining him while authorities consider extradition.
As of publication, no information was available about a possible extradition to Finland or further procedural steps.
Source: Incrypted
