tl;dr
Finnish police seized luxury watches worth $2.6 million from Hex founder Richard Shueler, wanted for tax evasion. Shueler is also under SEC investigation for his cryptocurrency Hex, accused of misusing $12 million and promoting unrealistic returns. Interpol issued an arrest request for tax fraud and...
Finnish police recently seized luxury watches worth $2.6 million from Hex founder Richard Shueler, who is wanted for tax evasion. Additionally, Shueler is under investigation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for potential unregistered securities and alleged misuse of funds amounting to $12 million while promoting unrealistic returns.
Interpol has also issued an arrest request for tax fraud and assault accusations against Shueler. This news comes in the wake of reports that the U.S. SEC considers Hex a security and has charged Shueler with unregistered securities sales. The watches, most of which were Rolexes, were discovered in a residence in Espoo, Finland, and are valued at a total of $2.68 million.
Shueler founded Hex, a cryptocurrency marketed as a high-yield "blockchain certificate of deposit." The U.S. SEC's investigation into Hex focuses on the potential unregistered securities status of the token, with the regulator noting a significant decline of 98.4% in its value from its peak. The complaint also involves three unincorporated entities: PulseChain, PulseX, and Hex.
According to Finland’s national broadcaster Yleisradio Oy (Yle), many of the seized watches were purchased in Finland, while others were acquired in the United States. Harri Saaristola, the lead detective handling Shueler's case, mentioned that the police were able to trace the goods through intelligence services.
Shueler began marketing Hex in 2018, touting it as the first high-yield 'blockchain certificate of deposit' and promoting it as an investment aimed at making people 'rich.' In response to the SEC's charges, Shueler filed a motion to dismiss the case, alleging that he raised over $1 billion through unregistered securities sales associated with his Hex venture.