Police seize Rolexes worth $2.6m in crypto founder raid

Finnish constabulary person seized $2.6 cardinal worthy of luxury watches aft raiding a spot linked to crypto laminitis Richard Heart.

Police conducted a hunt of a location successful Espoo, a suburb of Helsinki, wherever they recovered astir 20 wristwatches successful the possession of a bystander, according to a statement from the Finnish police.

The constabulary confirmed to the country’s nationalist broadcaster Yle, which besides archetypal reported the story, that the watches beryllium to Heart.

Criminal Inspector Harri Saaristola, who led the investigation, told Yle that the constabulary were capable to way down Heart’s watches done their ain quality activities.

In summation to the watches, the constabulary besides said they had seized millions of euros from a Finnish slope relationship and froze cryptocurrencies held astatine a overseas work supplier arsenic portion of a preliminary probe into the fishy started successful the autumn of 2024.

Richard Heart's luxury watches (Helsinki Police Department)

The raid is the latest lawsuit of authorities targeting the crypto founder, who raised billions from investors, for alleged wrongdoing.

Heart, whose ineligible sanction is Richard Schueler, is wanted by Finnish authorities connected taxation fraud and battle charges. In December, Interpol issued a announcement that requests his apprehension by planetary instrumentality enforcement.

Finnish authorities said they judge Heart has near the state but did not remark connected whether they person accusation astir wherever helium is presently located.

The constabulary did not instantly respond to DL News’ petition for remark connected Heart’s whereabouts.

DL News was incapable to scope Heart for comment.

Who is Richard Heart?

Heart, a 45 year-old US national, is 1 of crypto’s astir infamous figures.

He founded a crypto task called Hex successful 2018, claiming it was the archetypal high-yield “blockchain certificate of deposit,” and began promoting HEX tokens arsenic an concern designed to marque radical “rich.”

Heart sold HEX to investors via an ICO, oregon initial coin offering, raising much than 2.3 cardinal Ether tokens with a existent marketplace worth of $7.7 billion.

In 2020, ads boasting that the terms of the HEX token had risen 11,500% successful 4 months appeared astatine English Premier League shot games.

Heart ran akin coin offering schemes successful 2021 and 2022 for 2 further projects — PulseChain and PulseX.

In July 2023 the US Securities and Exchange Commission charged Heart, Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX with conducting unregistered offerings of crypto plus securities that raised much than $1 cardinal successful crypto assets from investors.

According to Saaristola, the suspected crimes successful Finland are related to the selling of the Hex and Pulsechain cryptocurrencies to investors.

Heart’s archetypal token, HEX, is down 99.5% from its all-time precocious of $0.51 successful September 2021.

The Pulsechain and PulseX tokens are down 58% and 80% from their records, respectively.

Expensive tastes

Heart is known for his penchant for luxury brands.

On X, the crypto laminitis has implicit the years posted dozens of videos of himself purchasing and wearing luxury brands similar Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Gucci.

The bulk of the watches seized from Heart by Finnish constabulary were Rolexes, costing implicit $400,000 each, according to the receipts recovered with them and an expert’s estimate.

According to the police, the watches were featured successful Heart’s YouTube broadcasts.

“By displaying the watches, helium was trying to make an content of wealthiness astir himself. The extremity was perchance to person investors that they excessively could go wealthy,” Saaristola said successful a constabulary statement.

The SEC besides charged Heart and PulseChain with fraud for misappropriating astatine slightest $12 cardinal raised done crypto income to acquisition luxury goods including sports cars, watches, and a 555-carat achromatic diamond known arsenic ‘The Enigma.’

Tim Craig is DL News’ Edinburgh-based DeFi Correspondent. Reach retired with tips astatine [email protected].