HEX founder Richard Heart is arrested in Istanbul on a Finnish Interpol notice, Turkish media report, and his token sheds about $160 million in a day

One of crypto's most hunted founders has been caught, if Turkish reports hold up. Richard Heart, the creator of HEX, PulseChain and PulseX, was detained with his wife at a property in Istanbul's Besiktas district on Wednesday in a joint operation by Turkish police and intelligence officers, CoinDesk reported on Thursday, citing the Daily Sabah. Cointelegraph, citing the Ihlas news agency, reported the same arrest and said police took devices, hardware wallets, jewellery and handguns. Turkish media also described $4 million in cash and 64 luxury watches, figures CoinDesk said police had not confirmed.

Heart, whose legal name is Richard James Schueler, is wanted in Finland on allegations of tax fraud and assault, and Finland had an Interpol Red Notice out for him. A spokesperson for Finland's National Bureau of Investigation declined to comment to Cointelegraph. CoinDesk carried no statement from Heart or his representatives.

The market reacted at once. HEX dropped about 30% in roughly a day to $0.0006 as of 11:28am UTC on Thursday, and its market capitalisation fell from more than $500 million on Wednesday to about $340 million, Cointelegraph reported from CoinMarketCap data. The token traded above $0.44 in September 2021.

Heart had only recently put his American troubles behind him. The US Securities and Exchange Commission sued him in July 2023, alleging he raised more than $1 billion in unregistered securities offerings and misappropriated at least $12 million; a federal judge dismissed the case in February 2025 for lack of jurisdiction, and the SEC said in April 2025 it would not refile. What Turkey does next, and whether Finland gets its extradition, is now the question.