Martin “Pharma Bro” Shkreli’s Wu-Tang Clan album has officially been unloaded by the US government. The one and only copy of “Once Upon a time in Shaolin” was sold by the government to an unnamed buyer, according to a press release released by the country’s Justice Department.
The reason the buyer of the sole copy of the album was not named is due to a confidentiality provision within the contract that was agreed upon by both parties. Shkreli is currently serving a seven-year sentence for securities fraud. One requirement of his sentencing was that he also forfeit the album. For US Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, she says that the sale of the album concludes Shkreli’s payment of its forfeiture.
Some of you will remember Shkreli for his actions back in 2015, when he became the centre of attention for significantly hiking up the price of Daraprim, a widely used HIV medication, nearly 5000%. From US$13.50 (~RM57) to a whopping US$750 (~RM3173) per pill.
It was around the same time as his infamous overnight price hike that Shkreli purchased the Wu-Tang Clan album back in 2015 at an auction for US$2 million (~RM8.46 million). Naturally, being the sole owner of the rapper group’s only album means that Shkreli was the only one who could listen to the album in its entirety, although to date, a total of 13 minutes of it has been streamed.
(Source: The Verge // Image: CNBC)
