The businessman of Albanian origin who increased the cost of the anti-AIDS drug and bought a single copy of Wu-Tang Clan's latest album for 2 million was caught by the FBI. He allegedly embezzled money from his own company.
Of Cecilia Uzzo 18.12.15 GQ Italy
Perhaps karma, or the "redde rationem" really exists: Martin Shkreli he has been arrested. He is the "most hated man in the world" as well as the "baddest man in America". And now he's been arrested by the FBI for financial crimes.
Who is Martin Shkreli
He is the entrepreneur who had bought the patent of the antiviral drug Daraprim (also used as an antimalarial and in therapy to treat AIDS) and had disproportionately increased the price of the pill, making it a mirage for many patients.
Musical patron? Nope, businessman
Less than a month ago, his name reappeared because it was linked to another particular commercial operation: Martin Shkreli had bought the only existing copy of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the latest album by the American hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, who had in fact auctioned the only copy of the CD, of which he would have sold the rights.
Shkreli had bought the record for $2 million, along with the freedom to make it public or keep it private.
For the moment, the entrepreneur had not made it public, saying that "I could be convinced to do it if Taylor Swift wanted to listen to it, or something: but for now I think I'll save it for a rainy day".
The distancing of the musicians
When the deal was announced in the pharmaceutical industry, the Wu-Tang Clan collective had decided to donate a large part of the proceeds to charity, to clean up morally "dirty" money: "The sale of the record was finalized in May, well before Shkreli's activities came to light. For this reason we have decided to donate a substantial portion of the proceeds from the sale to charity".
The pride of a super swashbuckler
Shrekli retorted loud and clear: “I am the most successful Albanian on the face of this earth [Shkreli was actually born in New York to parents of Croatian and Albanian descent]. I bought the disc. There's a fucking huge check in RZA and Cilvaringz's pockets right now, but they're starting to piss me off (…) I bought the most expensive record in history and this fucking RZA is starting to shit on me. I'm pissed off. This is not the way to do business. If I give you two million dollars, show me some respect. At least have the decency to say 'no comment'. This guy said 'before his way of doing business came to light'. What the f** does that mean? I make fucking money. It's what I do. That's why I can buy a $2 million fucking record. What do you think it does, biscuits? No, you son of a bitch, I sell drugs. I felt insulted…”.
The arrest for tax fraud
The FBI took care of arresting Martin Shkreli in his residence in Manhattan, New York. The accusation is of tax fraud: according to the federal authorities, the entrepreneur would have used funds from his pharmaceutical company Retrophin to pay previously contracted debts unrelated to the company's business.
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