Richard Heart, the founder of HEX and PulseChain, was arrested in Istanbul

According to Bitcoin.com News citing Turkish media Sözcü, Richard Heart, the founder of HEX and the L1 public chain PulseChain, was detained by Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT) in a joint operation with the police at a residence in Istanbul. The operation seized approximately 4 million dollars in cash, 53 Rolex watches, 11 Patek Philippe watches, firearms and ammunition, as well as a large amount of electronic equipment. His wife, A.K., was also detained.

The U.S. SEC previously accused him of issuing unregistered securities through related projects, raising over 1 billion dollars, and allegedly misappropriating at least 12 million dollars to purchase luxury goods. The related lawsuit was dismissed in 2025 due to jurisdictional issues. In addition, Heart is wanted by Finnish authorities for serious tax evasion and assault cases.