Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek has officially confirmed that Richard James Schueler, the U.S. citizen widely known as Richard Heart and the founder of the Hex and PulseChain cryptocurrency projects, was taken into custody in Istanbul.
The detention took place on October 14, 2026, during an operation in the Beşiktaş district.
Schueler’s wife was detained alongside him at the time.
Subsequent inquiries identified three additional individuals as his bodyguards, and those men were also placed under custody.
The operation was coordinated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
It involved the Istanbul Police Department’s intelligence and financial crimes units, with operational support from Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT).
Authorities determined Schueler’s location in the city and carried out the arrests after surveillance.
Gürlek stated that Schueler is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice issued in connection with allegations that he carried out roughly $1 billion in cryptocurrency fraud involving the United States and Finland.
Following the initial detentions, investigators conducted judicial searches at 15 addresses across the Beşiktaş, Üsküdar, and Sarıyer districts of Istanbul.
The searches yielded substantial cash holdings totaling $7.15 million in U.S. currency along with 160,000 Turkish lira.
Officers also recovered six cryptocurrency cold wallets.
Among the other items seized were 300 bags of various brands, 100 pairs of shoes, 136 pairs of glasses, 28 wristwatches, 97 pieces of jewelry, and assorted other valuables.
TÜRKİYE, SINIR AŞAN SUÇLARIN VE ARANAN ŞÜPHELİLERİN SIĞINAĞI OLMAYACAKTIR!
Ülkemizin suç işlediği iddiasıyla aranan kişilerin sığınabileceği bir yer hâline gelmemesi, uluslararası düzeyde aranan kişilerin yakalanması ve adaletten kaçmalarının önlenmesi için güvenlik ve…
— Akın Gürlek (@abakingurlek) October 17, 2026
Electronic equipment recovered during the raids included 29 mobile phones, 12 laptop computers, 11 computer cases, 19 solid-state drives or external disks, 46 USB memory sticks, and 19 graphics cards.
Weapons were also found: four long-barreled rifles, three unlicensed pistols, and approximately 1,400 rounds of ammunition.
Gürlek indicated that judicial proceedings involving the detainees remain underway and that examination of the seized materials continues.
In his public statement, the justice minister emphasized that Turkey will not serve as a refuge for individuals sought internationally on allegations of cross-border crime.
He noted that security and intelligence units are continuing coordinated efforts to locate wanted persons and prevent them from using the country as a safe harbor.
Gürlek thanked the Istanbul prosecutor’s office, the relevant police units, MİT, and other public officials involved in the operation, adding that Turkey remains committed to strengthening international cooperation against transnational offenses.
The minister’s announcement provides the first official confirmation from Turkish authorities of the detention and the full scope of the seizures.
Earlier unofficial media accounts had circulated differing figures on the amount of cash and number of luxury items recovered.
Legal processes regarding the detainees and the inventory of seized assets are still in progress, and no further details on potential extradition or the contents of the cold wallets have been released by Turkish officials at this time.
Earlier in 2025, a separate US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit against Hex and PulseChain founder Richard Heart reached a decisive resolution in federal court.
In July 2023 the agency had accused Heart and entities he controlled of conducting unregistered securities offerings that raised more than $1 billion and of misappropriating at least $12 million of investor proceeds for luxury purchases, including a large black diamond.
On February 28, 2025, U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon in Brooklyn dismissed the complaint, ruling that the SEC had failed to establish sufficient personal jurisdiction.
The court found that Heart’s online statements and activities were directed at a global audience rather than specifically at the United States, that the alleged misappropriation occurred abroad, and that the regulator had not adequately shown domestic transactions or purposeful targeting of American investors.
The judge granted the SEC a limited window to file an amended complaint addressing those deficiencies.
Although the judicial dismissal appeared to close the American civil enforcement action in Heart’s favor, the SEC ultimately chose not to amend its complaint.
In April 2025 the agency notified the court that it would not pursue a revised filing, effectively ending the case without a trial on the underlying allegations or any finding that the projects fell outside securities laws.
Heart’s legal team characterized the outcome as a complete victory on jurisdictional grounds.
The resolution of the SEC matter, however, is distinct from ongoing European issues.
Finnish authorities have pursued separate allegations of aggravated tax fraud linked to Heart’s activities, which formed the basis for the Interpol Red Notice that led to his detention in Turkey. Those tax-related claims remain unresolved and are independent of the dismissed U.S. securities case.
