The rare Bahia Emerald, which was mined in Brazil in 2001 and smuggled to the US, has long been the subject of competing claims of ownership

An 836-pound “cursed” emerald worth nearly $1 billion will be returned to Brazil after 15 years under lock and key in Los Angeles.

Nearly a quarter-century ago, a giant, malformed emerald was illegally wrenched from Brazilian soil and smuggled across the ocean and into the United States, where it has been the object of intrigue, obsession and dispute ever since.

The 180,000-carat Bahia Emerald has long been held in Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department custody, but a federal judge's ruling could clear the way for it to return to Brazil.