PulseX trading plunges 50% after Interpol issues Red Notice to founder Richard Heart
Businessman accused of tax evasion
Interpol has issued a red notice for Richard Schueler, known in the crypto community as Richard Heart, the founder of the decentralized exchange PulseX and several other projects.
Although a U.S. citizen, Schueler is being sought by Finnish authorities, where he has been residing recently, for alleged tax evasion and assault on a minor.
A red notice does not provide legal grounds for arrest, but signals that the individual is wanted by a specific country. This is a significant development for Schueler, as he is already embroiled in a legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which sued him in July 2023 for three alleged unregistered securities offerings and fraud.
Lavish purchases under scrutiny
The SEC claims Schueler illegally raised over $1 billion from investors, misappropriating at least $12 million for luxury purchases, including the world’s largest black diamond, The Enigma, weighing 555 carats.
The SEC lawsuit targets PulseX, a decentralized exchange founded by Schueler with a market capitalization exceeding $5 billion, according to CoinMarketCap, along with the PulseChain blockchain and the Hex token, which is described as a "high-yield blockchain certificate of deposit."
Further trouble from Europol
Europol has added to Schueler’s challenges, stating that he failed to accurately report his income, with alleged tax evasion amounting to hundreds of millions of euros.
In response to the Interpol notice, PulseX users have significantly reduced trading activity, with volumes dropping by more than half.
On Monday, HyperLiquid, the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) for perpetual futures, experienced a significant outflow of USDC deposits, which serve as reserves for trading.
According to blockchain analytics platform Dune, users withdrew $96.3 million in USDC from the platform on December 23, representing over 4% of the total deposits of $2.24 billion.
