The US will return an emerald worth $1 million to Brazil $1 billion (3 photos)

In 2001, miners in the Brazilian state of Bahia discovered a giant emerald weighing about 800 pounds. The 180,000-carat gem was smuggled to the United States and has been the subject of years of dispute between the Brazilian and U.S. governments, as well as individuals and corporations.





A federal judge ruled Thursday in favor of the U.S. Justice Department's motion to turn over the gem to Brazil.

In 2001, the emerald was discovered in a beryl mine and smuggled out of the rainforest by mules. During transport, one of the mules was reportedly attacked by a panther. Once in the United States, the emerald survived the flooding of Hurricane Katrina.



Idaho businessman Keith Morrison bought the gem for $1.3 million, but reported it missing a few years later.

Investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department found the emerald in a storage facility in Las Vegas. However, they were unable to determine who it belonged to, so they decided to confiscate it.

In 2015, The Post reported that the stone had ties to the Brazilian mafia and was part of Bernie Madoff's $197 million banking scam.



But Brazilian officials insisted that their national treasure belong in a museum. They asked their American counterparts to hand over the emerald under a legal agreement between the countries that allows for the sharing of evidence in criminal cases.

And finally, the court ruled in Brazil's favor.

"We are very pleased with this decision," said federal prosecutor Boni de Moraes Soares. "We are closer than ever to returning the Bahia emerald to the Brazilian people."

Morrison, the former owner, said he felt no sense of defeat or loss: "As an investor and entrepreneur, you want to do everything you can to protect, preserve and grow your investment and opportunity. But you can't control what you can't control."