Hex and PulseChain founder Richard Schueler, who also goes by Richard Heard and Richard Heart, is currently the subject of criminal investigations in Finland for gross tax evasion and assault.
According to a Sept. 17 report by local news outlet YLE, Finnish police suspect Schueler, who has been living in Helsinki, of gross tax evasion and assault. Helsinki police detective Harri Saaristola told the news outlet that Schueler is suspected of failing to pay several hundred million euros worth of taxes to Finland.
The investigation began following a request from the Finnish Tax Administration. Saaristola explained that discrepancies between Schueler's tax returns and the Tax Administration's income assessment prompted the inquiry.
On September 13, Schueler was remanded in custody in absentia—meaning he wasn’t present when it happens. His current location is unknown to authorities.
Finnish police did not immediately respond to a request for further details or comment from Decrypt.
The suspected tax evasion in Finland allegedly occurred between June 2, 2020, and April 2, 2024. A separate assault charge dates to February 16-17, 2021.
Finnish authorities said they estimate Schueler’s 2023 income exceeds 15.2 million euros, but that the tax evasion allegations are not related to his capital income. Finnish law enforcement said they believe the crypto founder created, launched, and marketed his cryptocurrencies from Finland and that the marketing for those projects extended internationally.
The international marketing of his projects, Hex and Pulse, is at the center of charges he’s facing from the Securities and Exchange Commission in the U.S..
Last summer the SEC charged Schueler with illegally raising more than $1 billion through three unregistered cryptocurrency offerings. The regulator also accused him of defrauding investors out of $12.1 million. But as the SEC reported at the end of 2023, the regulator has not yet been able to locate him.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.