Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon A Time in Shaolin , the world’s most expensive album seized from convicted businessman Martin Shkreli, has a new owner. The US Public Prosecution Service does not want to reveal who it is, but the proceeds cover the $7.4 million (almost 6.3 million euros) penalty that the entrepreneur had to pay because he had committed fraud.
Only one copy of the album was released by the hip-hop formation, and it ended up in the hands of Shkreli in December 2015 for a reported $2 million. It was subsequently named the most expensive album in the world by Guinness World Records.
The sale immediately sparked controversy, as Shkreli was already known as “the most hated man in the United States”. The former CEO of the pharmaceutical company Turing had increased the price of an HIV pill from $13.50 to $750. In 2018, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for allegedly misleading investors.
In 2019, the album was seized by the US prosecution and on Wednesday it found a buyer. “Through our unremitting efforts, Shkreli has now paid the price for lying and misleading investors,” a prosecutor said. “With the sale of this unique album, his fine has been paid off.” Justice does not want to disclose who bought the album and for how much money.
Shkreli would also not have followed the rules completely after he got the album in his possession. No one, except the owner, was allowed to listen to the music, but Shkreli occasionally put fragments on the internet in the past. He would also have tried to sell the album through an online auction in 2017, the OM says.