From the deposit of "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli: unique copy of a Wu Tang Clan album resold

Enlarge image

In prison for fraud: Pharma manager Martin Shkreli (archive image)

Photo: John Taggart / picture alliance / dpa

An album by the rap group Wu-Tang Clan that was confiscated from the controversial US pharmaceutical manager Martin Shkreli when he was sentenced, of which there is only one copy, has been resold by US authorities.

The album was sold as part of the deposit, the buyer and the price of the work entitled "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" were not disclosed, a court spokesman in New York said.

Shkreli had bought the album in 2015 for around two million dollars (1.6 million euros) - and thus turned numerous fans against him and caused a lot of criticism in the music scene, as the release was withheld from a larger audience.

After Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine in the millions for securities fraud in 2018, the album was confiscated.

As the head of a pharmaceutical company, the now 38-year-old had drastically increased the price of a vital drug against immune deficiency, at times he was considered the "most hated man in America".

US media nicknamed him "Pharma Bro".

Enlarge image

US rap group Wu-Tang Clan (archive image): An album like the scepter of an Egyptian king

Photo: Bob Berg / Getty Images

The Wu-Tang Clan had announced the auction as a novelty in music history: For the owner, it would be as if he owned the scepter of an Egyptian king, said rapper RZA to the US business magazine "Forbes".

The owner of the album with 31 songs can do anything he wants with it - except earn money with the recording.

Only an excerpt of around 13 minutes was played to interested parties and the media.

With the sale of the one-of-a-kind album, Shkreli's court debts have been paid off in full, said a US prosecutor in Brooklyn.

Shkreli's lawyer confirmed this, but did not want to convey any further comments from his client.

feb / dpa / AP