380-Kilo Emerald at Center of Legal Battle Between Brazil and USA

05/21/2015 - 07h46

From the bottom of a well in Pindobaçu, a town in the countryside of Bahia, in the Brazilian northeast, to the safe of a police station in Los Angeles.

This was the journey made by the Bahia emerald, a 380-kilo stone excavated in Brazil in 2001, which is at the center of a complex, intrigue-filled legal dispute between Brazil and the United States.

Last week, a judge at a Californian court reopened the case, in order to determine the true owner of the enormous jewel.

Eight people have staked claims to the emerald, which has been under police guard since 2008, when it was reported as stolen and found in a Las Vegas warehouse. Just one group remains in the legal battle, which has been running for six years.

Brazil has been trying to obtain the emerald since 2011, when it was notified of the theft by the American Department of Homeland Security.

The Brazilian government argues that the stone was illegally extracted and exported, and is negotiating with the American government in an attempt to secure its repatriation.

The emerald was in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and had to be rescued by divers after spending two weeks underwater.

Nobody knows for certain its value. The highest amount paid so far was US$1.3 million in 2008, by the Idaho executive Kit Morrison. Half this amount went to two Brazilians, Elson Ribeiro and Ruy Saraiva Filho, according to Morrison's lawyer.

Morrison was trying to buy diamonds from Larry Biegler and Jerry Ferrara, who had promised the stone as a guarantee if the diamonds were not delivered. Biegler called the police when the emerald vanished from his safe, after Ferrara had betrayed him and given Morrison the key.

Today, Morrison and Ferrara are part of the group FM Holdings, which is claiming ownership of the emerald.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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