Finnish police seize $2.6 million worth of watches from Hex founder Richard Hart
Date: 2025-01-08 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
Finnish police have seized 20 luxury watches, most of them Rolexes, reportedly belonging to Richard Schüler, aka Richard Hart. The watches were found in a residential property in the city of Espoo, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported on January 7.
According to luxury goods experts and receipts, the total value of the seized watches was $2.68 million. Some of the watches were purchased in Finland and some in the United States.
The investigator in the case, Inspector Harri Saaristola, told Yle that the watches were found thanks to prompt police action.
On September 13, Schüler was taken into custody by Finnish authorities on charges of tax fraud and violence. However, his whereabouts were later lost.
According to police, he evaded taxes from June 2, 2020 to April 2, 2024. In February 2021, he was also charged with assault. Specifically, he is alleged to have attacked a 16-year-old boy by grabbing him by the hair, dragging him into a stairwell, and knocking him down.
On December 22, Interpol issued a Red Notice against Schüler. He was also included in Europe's most wanted list.
Schüler is accused of owing taxes in Finland that could amount to "hundreds of millions of euros." For 2023 alone, his income is estimated to have reached 15.2 million euros ($16.9 million).
Despite the efforts of law enforcement, Schüler’s exact location remains unknown. However, he continues to be active on social media, promoting the HEX cryptocurrency on the X platform (formerly Twitter) and posting videos on YouTube.
Earlier in July 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Schüler. The SEC alleges that three tokens issued by his companies — Hex (HEX), PulseChain (PLS), and PulseX (PSLX) — are unregistered securities that have raised more than $1 billion.
In addition, the SEC accuses Schüler of using some of these funds for personal purchases, including a 555-carat diamond, expensive watches, and luxury cars.
