Short answer: Richard Heart (legal name Richard James Schueler), the founder of HEX, PulseChain and PulseX, was detained in Istanbul on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, in a joint operation by Turkish police and the national intelligence agency MİT. The detention is tied to an Interpol Red Notice that Finland requested in December 2024 over alleged aggravated tax fraud. It is not a new SEC case: the US Securities and Exchange Commission's 2023 lawsuit, which alleged unregistered sales of HEX, PLS and PLSX and misuse of at least $12 million, was dismissed in 2025 and never refiled. The tokens still sold off hard, with PulseChain HEX, PLS and PLSX losing roughly 44–55% within a day.
Did the SEC file new charges against Richard Heart?
No. Headlines circulating this week mixed the old US case with the new arrest. The SEC sued Heart and three entities he controls — Hex, PulseChain and PulseX — on July 31, 2023. The agency claimed that the projects raised more than $1 billion through unregistered offerings of crypto asset securities and that Heart and PulseChain diverted at least $12 million of that money into luxury purchases, including sports cars, watches and a 555-carat black diamond.
That case is over. On February 28, 2025, Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the Eastern District of New York dismissed the complaint, finding the SEC had not shown that Heart's activities were aimed at US investors closely enough to give the court jurisdiction. The SEC let the April 2025 deadline to amend pass, and Heart's lawyer described the outcome as a complete victory. We found no new SEC filing against Heart on the SEC's newsroom or in coverage by CoinDesk, Decrypt or Crypto.news. The $12 million figure in today's articles comes from that closed 2023 complaint.
What actually happened in Istanbul?
According to Turkish media cited by CoinDesk and Decrypt (the agency IHA and the newspaper Daily Sabah), police and MİT officers detained Heart and his wife at a property in Istanbul's Beşiktaş district on the morning of October 14 after watching the address. Protos, citing Turkish reports, says the operation was coordinated with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's financial crimes unit and Interpol.
What was seized is disputed. Several Turkish outlets, including Sözcü and Haberler, reported about $4 million in cash and 64 luxury watches. Other reports, cited by FinanceFeeds from Euronews and Türkiye Today, list a smaller haul: about $600,000 plus smaller sums in euros and lira, 24 watches, gold, phones, laptops, graphics cards and firearms. Police have not published an official inventory, so neither figure should be treated as confirmed.
As of October 16, no Turkish indictment, court order or extradition timetable had been made public, and Heart had not commented on his X account. Neither the PulseChain nor the PulseX accounts had issued a statement either.
Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who | Richard Heart (Richard James Schueler), founder of HEX, PulseChain, PulseX |
| When and where | October 14, 2026, Beşiktaş, Istanbul (CoinDesk, Decrypt, Protos) |
| Basis | Interpol Red Notice requested by Finland in December 2024: aggravated tax fraud |
| Finnish allegation | Unpaid taxes of "hundreds of millions of euros" for 2020–2024 (Finnish police, 2024) |
| Seizures | Disputed: $4M and 64 watches vs about $600K and 24 watches; no official inventory |
| SEC case | Filed July 2023 (over $1B raised, at least $12M misused); dismissed Feb 2025; not refiled |
| Market reaction, Oct 14 | PulseChain HEX about −55%, PLSX about −48%, PLS about −44%, Ethereum HEX about −24% (CoinGecko via FinanceFeeds) |
What is Finland accusing Heart of?
Finnish police announced in autumn 2024 that they were investigating Heart for aggravated tax fraud, alleging unpaid taxes of several hundred million euros for 2020 through early 2024, a period when he was registered as living in Finland. In December 2024 Interpol published a Red Notice at Finland's request, and in January 2025 police in Espoo reportedly seized about 20 watches worth more than €2.6 million. Some reports, including CoinDesk's, also mention a separate assault allegation; that has not been tested in court.
Two things are important here. First, a Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person; it is not an international arrest warrant and does not mean guilt. Second, Turkey decides under its own law what happens next. Both Turkey and Finland are parties to the 1957 European Convention on Extradition, but it is not clear whether Finland has formally requested extradition. Any transfer would go through a Turkish court and could take months.
What does this mean for HEX, PLS and PLSX holders?
Technically, nothing breaks. HEX staking runs on immutable smart contracts on Ethereum and on its PulseChain copy, PulseChain keeps producing blocks through its validators, and PulseX is a permissionless exchange. No platform has halted trading, and existing stakes keep accruing as before. The arrest does not freeze anyone's wallet.
The economic risk is a different story. These ecosystems have been built around a single, highly visible founder, and the market priced in a "key person" discount within hours. Price data differ between snapshots, which is normal in thin markets: Crypto.news and others cited HEX down about 25% and PLS about 28–35% early on, while later CoinGecko readings collected by FinanceFeeds showed PulseChain HEX at about −55%, PLSX at −48% and PLS at −44% over 24 hours. The Crypto Times measured a peak-to-trough fall of about 64% for PulseChain HEX intraday. Ethereum HEX, with deeper and more established liquidity, fell less, around 24%.
Liquidity is the practical problem. Volumes in the low millions of dollars per day mean that large sell orders move prices sharply, and slippage on DEX pools can be far worse than the quoted price. Expect sharp moves either way on any official news from Turkey or Finland.
What to do: a checklist for HEX and PulseChain users
- Separate facts from rumours. Confirmed so far: the detention, the Finnish Red Notice and the closed SEC case. Unconfirmed: seizure amounts, new charges and any extradition. Treat posts announcing a "new SEC case" or "funds frozen" as misinformation.
- Do not panic-unstake. Ending a HEX stake early triggers a penalty set by the contract. Check the exact penalty for your stake before acting on headlines; the arrest itself does not change the contract rules.
- Beware of fake "rescue" and "migration" sites. Scammers exploit founder news with fake airdrops, "emergency bridges" and support DMs. Never sign transactions or enter a seed phrase on a site linked from social media. Our guide to self-custody wallet security explains the basics.
- Check slippage before trading. In thin markets, split large orders and compare the quote with the received amount. A fixed-rate quote can protect against sudden moves; see fixed vs floating rate swaps.
- Use services you have verified. If you decide to rebalance into BTC, ETH or stablecoins, compare rates in the exchangers list on changerella.com or use Changerella App, which swaps without an account and sends coins straight to your own wallet. Before choosing a service, read how to vet a crypto exchanger.
This article is news coverage, not investment advice. Heart has not been convicted of any crime in Finland, Turkey or the United States.
FAQ
Was Richard Heart charged by the SEC in October 2026?
No. The SEC's 2023 lawsuit against Heart, HEX, PulseChain and PulseX was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction in February 2025, and the SEC did not refile it. The October 2026 news is his detention in Istanbul on a Finnish Interpol Red Notice.
Why was Richard Heart arrested in Istanbul?
Turkish police and intelligence officers detained him on October 14, 2026, on an Interpol Red Notice that Finland requested in December 2024 over alleged aggravated tax fraud involving hundreds of millions of euros. No Turkish indictment or extradition decision had been made public as of October 16.
Are HEX stakes and PulseChain still working?
Yes. HEX staking runs on immutable smart contracts, PulseChain is run by validators, and PulseX is permissionless, so the arrest does not freeze wallets or stakes. The risk is price and liquidity, not the code.
How much did HEX, PLS and PLSX fall?
Figures differ by snapshot. CoinGecko data cited by FinanceFeeds showed PulseChain HEX down about 55%, PLSX about 48%, PLS about 44% and Ethereum HEX about 24% over 24 hours on October 14; earlier snapshots showed smaller drops.
Will Richard Heart be extradited to Finland?
It is unknown. A Red Notice is not an arrest warrant, and it is not clear whether Finland has filed a formal extradition request. Any extradition would have to be approved by a Turkish court.