Tales have been told for years about the famed 836-pound emerald believed to be worth up to $1 billion: that it survived a panther attack, that it survived the floods of Hurricane Katrina, that the gem may be cursed.
Yet the mystery of who rightfully owns the emerald, a highly debated topic, could be coming to an end, after a federal court ruling last week set in motion the gem’s repatriation to Brazil.
The ownership of the emerald, which was unearthed in Brazil more than 20 years ago, has been at the center of a sprawling international dispute for decades, including a civil court battle in California and criminal convictions in Brazil. Several U.S.-based gem collectors also claim to be the emerald’s rightful owner.
The Brazilian authorities say the Bahia Emerald, as the stone is known, is a national treasure and was illegally smuggled from Brazil into the United States. The gem, one of the largest emeralds ever to have been discovered, has been sequestered in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department since 2015, as criminal and civil cases have played out in the courts.
On Thursday, Judge Reggie B. Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the stone be returned to Brazil.
“We were thrilled with the federal court’s ruling, which paves the way for the Bahia Emerald to be sent to its rightful home, the country of Brazil,” John Nadolenco, an attorney whose firm represented Brazil in the federal case, said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing it displayed in a museum.”
According to Mayer Brown, Mr. Nadolenco’s law firm, the stone was discovered in a mine in Brazil in 2001 and was illegally extracted before being smuggled into the United States in 2005.
It wasn’t until 2011 that Brazil’s Ministry of Justice said it learned of the gem’s theft and location from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and opened a criminal investigation, according to court documents.
The legal battles were only just beginning. As criminal proceedings were underway in Brazil, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a restraining order in 2015 for the gem to be kept safe. It was in California by then and was seized by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office.
In 2015, the Bahia Emerald was the subject of ongoing litigation in the Golden State among several American gem enthusiasts and entities, all of whom claimed to be its rightful owner.
That trial in Brazil ended with two criminal convictions that were upheld through a lengthy appeals process and eventually led to a forfeiture order of the emerald.
In April 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion with the Federal District Court asking it to enforce the return of the gem to Brazil.
According to Law.com, Brazil plans to display the Bahia Emerald in a museum.
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