A U.S. ruling set in motion the gem’s repatriation to Brazil, where it was first unearthed more than 20 years ago.

A U.S. judge has ruled that the Bahia Emerald, which was mined in 2001 and smuggled into the U.S., may return to Brazil. The jewel has been described as "cursed."

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.

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.

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

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

A U.S. court has ruled who is the rightful owner of an 836-pound emerald, believed to be worth up to $1 billion and rumored to be cursed.

A massive, 836-pound emerald thought to be worth as much as $1bn—as well as rumored to be cursed—will return to its home soil of Brazil, a U.S. court ruled this week.“We’re very happy with the decision,

On Thursday, United States District Judge Reggie B. Walton said that a request by the American and Brazilian governments to return the emerald to its native country can move forward, brushing aside pleas from a consortium of U.S. gem spectators that claimed to be the rightful owners.