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 Shkreli, 32, had bragged to Bloomberg Businessweek about
buying the only copy of the popular New York-based hip-hop
collective's "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," drawing ire from
music fans around the world when he said he had no plans to
listen to it. He spent the $2 million to "keep it from people,"
he said.
Wu-Tang Clan had produced the record as a limited-edition album,
which it then put up for auction.
On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Robert Capers told reporters, "We're
not aware of where he got the funds that he raised for the
Wu-Tang Clan album."
Capers' comments immediately spurred hopeful posts on social
media from music lovers that the album might be forfeited by the
Turing chief executive officer during his federal prosecution.
Twitter lit up with reaction to the arrest of Shkreli, who is
even more reviled for boosting drug prices than he is for hiding
the album. Shkreli's critics used the hashtag #Karma to voice
their support for the federal prosecution and hope that the
Wu-Tang clan album could be heard across the world.
"Dear US attorney: all we want for Christmas is that Wu-Tang
album – everyone," wrote Twitter user @cbk_chi.
"If the government seizes the Wu-Tang album, does it run another
auction, or just release it for free as part of our cultural
patrimony?" asked @Matt_Levine.
"It would be the best twist ever if the Library of Congress
ended up owning the Wu Tang album," tweeted journalist Ryan
Teague Beckwith.
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Responding to questions on social media about the status of the
album, the Federal Bureau of Investigation tweeted later on Thursday
that it had not yet seized it, or any of Shkreli's assets.
"#Breaking no seizure warrant at the arrest of Martin Shkreli today,
which means we didn't seize the Wu-Tang Clan album," the FBI's New
York office tweeted.
Whether authorities plan to reclaim the album through asset
forfeiture in the future was not immediately clear, but Wu-Tang has
already distanced themselves from Shkreli.
"The sale of 'Once Upon a Time in Shaolin' was agreed upon in May,
well before Martin Shkreli's business practices came to light," said
group member RZA, whose fellow Wu-Tang Clan members include
Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard. "We decided to give a
significant portion of the proceeds to charity."
But even if the album is freed for the people, some on social media
have questioned if they'd listen.
"Maybe the Wu-Tang album is cursed and brings bad luck to all who
listen to it?" joked @hunterwalk.
(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Bernard Orr and
Jonathan Oatis)
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