‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli ordered to turn over all copies of Wu-Tang Clan’s unreleased album

The man who had raised the cost of a life-saving drug has been ordered to hand over all copies of Wu-Tang Clan’s unreleased album, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.”

The judge overseeing Martin Shkreli’s case has given him a deadline of Friday to deliver all copies of the album to his lawyers, The Associated Press reported.

The record is considered the world’s rarest album.

Along with the actual copies, Shkreli must also provide the names of anyone he gave the music to by Sept. 30 as well as how much money he received from distributing it.

A cryptocurrency group through they had purchased the only known copy of the album and is now suing Shkreli for $4.75 million, saying that he kept digital copies of the music, violating their deal. They also claim he gave the album to his social media users.

Shkreli responded to a comment from an X user in April, writing, “LOL I have the mp3s you moron.” The next month Shkreli said on a podcast that he “burned the album and sent it to like, 50 different chicks,” CNN reported.

Wu-Tang Clan created “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” over six years as a piece of contemporary art. It was produced in secret, CNN reported. The group made one copy of the 31-track double album, which was put up for auction in 2015. It was not to be released to the public, the AP reported.

Shkreli sold the rare album to pay off court debts in 2021. He had been convicted of securities fraud in 2017 and was released from prison in 2022, the BBC reported.

Shkreli was also banned from working in the pharmaceutical industry. ordered to pay $750,000 and forfeit $7.4 million, CNN reported.

He also caused an uproar when he raised the price of Daraprim, a treatment for a life-threatening parasitic infection from $13.50 a pill to $750, The New York Times reported in 2015. The incidents earned Shkreli the moniker “Pharma Bro” on social media, The Washington Post reported.

CNN reported that Shkreli’s lawyer Edward Paltzik said the judge’s order concerning the Wu-Tang Clan album “is merely a preliminary measure entered by the Court to maintain the perceived status quo before any discovery occurs – the Order has no bearing whatsoever on the final outcome of the case.”

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