Richard Heart Detained in Istanbul Under Interpol Red Notice as HEX and PLS Plunge

Published October 14, 2026, 19:10 UTC. Based on reports from Daily Sabah citing Ihlas News Agency, Sozcu, Haberler, The Block, CoinScreamer, CryptoAdventure, CryptoNews and FinanceFeeds, October 14, 2026.

HEX and PulseChain founder Richard Heart was detained in Istanbul on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, in a joint operation by Istanbul police and Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, known as MIT, according to reports from Daily Sabah citing Ihlas News Agency, Sozcu and Haberler. Heart, whose legal name is Richard James Schueler, was taken into custody at a residence in the city's Besiktas district along with his wife, whom the reports identified only by the initials A.K.

Turkish police had kept the address under technical and physical surveillance before the Wednesday morning raid, the reports said. Units from Istanbul police's intelligence and financial crimes departments carried out the operation with MIT support, according to CoinScreamer's account of the reporting.

The Finnish Red Notice

The detention is linked to an Interpol Red Notice issued in 2024 at Finland's request, The Block reported. Finnish authorities have sought Heart over alleged aggravated tax fraud, with the suspected conduct placed between June 2020 and April 2024, according to CryptoNews. The Block reported that Finnish authorities have also pursued an assault allegation dating to February 2021. The Turkish reports have not established whether prosecutors filed new domestic charges or whether formal extradition proceedings have begun, CryptoAdventure reported. The Block said it contacted Istanbul police and Interpol for confirmation and had not received a response.

Two different seizure lists

Outlets disagree on what officers seized. Sozcu, Haberler, A Haber and Takvim reported that the raid turned up $4 million in cash and 64 luxury watches, including 53 Rolexes and 11 Patek Philippes, according to FinanceFeeds. An itemized account from Ihlas News Agency, used by Euronews, Turkiye Today and CryptoAdventure, instead listed $600,000, 2,600 euros and 50,000 Turkish lira in cash plus 24 wristwatches, 20 gold bracelets and 7 gold necklaces. The itemized account also listed 3 handguns, 4 long-barreled firearms, 7 magazines and 1,360 rounds of ammunition, along with 12 mobile phones, 8 desktop computer units, 6 laptops, 20 graphics cards, 14 SSDs, 2 drones, 7 USB drives, 3 memory cards and a knife, CryptoAdventure reported. FinanceFeeds noted the two cash figures differ by a factor of roughly 6.7 and cannot both be correct.

The SEC case that ended in February

The Turkish reports also referenced allegations brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but that case ended last year, The Block reported. The SEC sued Heart in July 2023, alleging he raised more than $1 billion through unregistered crypto offerings tied to HEX, PulseChain and PulseX and misused at least $12 million on luxury purchases, including sports cars, Rolex watches and a 555-carat black diamond called "The Enigma," according to TradingView's Benzinga account of the case. In February 2025, U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon dismissed the lawsuit, and the SEC declined to amend its complaint in April 2025, The Block reported.

HEX and PLS plunge

Tokens tied to Heart fell sharply on the news. HEX dropped about 25 percent on Wednesday and now trades for fractions of a cent, down more than 99 percent from its 2021 all-time high near $0.44, The Block reported. PLS fell about 35 percent in 24 hours and sits nearly 98 percent below its 2023 inception price, The Block reported. A CoinGecko snapshot cited by CoinScreamer put the drops at about 29 percent for Ethereum-based HEX, 44 percent for PLS and 53 percent for the separate PulseChain HEX token over 24 hours.

Heart launched HEX in 2019 as an Ethereum token that rewards holders for locking their tokens for set periods, and in 2023 he launched PulseChain, a separate blockchain that copied Ethereum's blockchain state, including token balances, at launch, with PLS as its native fee token, according to CryptoNews. PulseX operates as a decentralized exchange on PulseChain.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• Daily Sabah, October 14, 2026, citing Ihlas News Agency, primary source for the Besiktas detention, the surveillance of the residence, the joint police and MIT operation, and the detention of his wife identified by the initials A.K.
• Sozcu and Haberler, October 14, 2026, primary source for the $4 million cash and 64 luxury watch seizure account
• Ihlas News Agency itemized account via Euronews, Turkiye Today and CryptoAdventure, October 14, 2026, primary source for the $600,000 cash and 24-watch itemized seizure list, including the firearms, electronics and other items
• The Block, October 14, 2026, secondary source for the 2024 Interpol Red Notice issued at Finland's request, the alleged aggravated tax fraud, the February 2025 SEC dismissal by Judge Carol Bagley Amon, and the HEX and PLS price drops
• CryptoNews, October 14, 2026, secondary source for the June 2020 to April 2024 alleged conduct window, the February 2021 assault allegation, and the HEX, PulseChain and PulseX project background
• CoinScreamer, October 14, 2026, secondary source for the CoinGecko price snapshot showing HEX down 29 percent, PLS down 44 percent and PulseChain HEX down 53 percent over 24 hours
• FinanceFeeds, October 14, 2026, secondary source for the discrepancy between the seizure accounts, noting the cash figures differ by a factor of roughly 6.7