Martin Shkreli, the “pharma bro” who infamously boosted the price of a lifesaving drug and went to prison for seven years for fraud, has been ordered by a judge to hand over his copies of an unreleased Wu-Tang Clan album.
On Monday, a New York judge ruled that Shkreli must give up what some people refer to as “the world’s rarest album” to his lawyers Friday. He must also report the names of anyone he shared the music with by Sept. 30 alongside the revenue he’s received from the album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” The Associated Press reported.
The ruling is a part of an ongoing legal battle between Shkreli and PleasrDAO, a group of NFT collectors, which bought the album for $4.74 million. According to the lawsuit, the cryptocurrency collective sued Shkreli in June because he kept copies of the album and “intends to release them to the public.”
In a statement, Shkreli’s attorney said “this Order 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.”
The rare Wu-Tang album was created in secret by the rap group’s members over six years with the intention for only one copy of the album to ever exist. The group did not intend for the album to be released digitally or through streaming. It is reported that in 2015 that Shkreli paid $2 million for the album, CNN reported.