A judge has ruled that a massive 836lb emerald, which was the center of a bizarre legal battle, must be returned to Brazil.
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The Bahia Emerald, mined in Brazil in 2001 and smuggled to the US, has long been the subject of competing claims of ownership, according to The Independent.
There also have been claims that the emerald was “cursed.”
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The gem was carried out of the Brazilian rainforest by a team of mules, one of which was attacked by a panther.
In the US, Hurricane Katrina hit one warehouse where it was stored, and the gem was stolen from another facility in Los Angeles, according to The Independent.
It also almost became a part of a transaction involving Bernie Madoff.
The emerald is estimated to be worth as much as $1 billion, The Washington Post reported.
By 2021, the Brazilian court ordered the emerald be returned to its home soil.
The following year, the Justice Department filed a motion in court seeking to return the emerald to Brazil under a mutual legal assistance treaty.
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