The United States Court ordered this Thursday (21) that the precious stone “Esmeralda Bahia” be repatriated to Brazil by December, after nine years of dispute. According to information from the Attorney General’s Office (AGU), judge Reggie Walton, of the District Court of Columbia, recognized that the precious stone was extracted and exported illegally.
Information from the North American media indicates that the stone could be worth US$1 billion – almost R$6 billion.
Walton’s decision recognizes the sentence of the Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region (TRF3) of illegal export of the mineral, and determines that the Department of Justice must file the return by December 6th, except for possible appeals that could suspend the process.
The magistrate’s decision is aimed only at individuals who challenged the Brazilian position in the Columbia Court, resolving the case in favor of Brazil, but without affecting future litigation related to the emerald. Currently, the stone remains in the custody of the Los Angeles police, California.
“Esmeralda Bahia is a Brazilian cultural asset, which will be incorporated into our Geological Museum”, said the Union’s attorney general, Jorge Messias.
Esmeralda Bahia is considered one of the largest in the world and, according to the AGU, it was removed from Brazil without authorization using falsified documents. In 2017, the Federal Court in Campinas (SP) convicted two people responsible for illegally sending the stone and determined the definitive loss of the asset in favor of the Union.
Since then, AGU and MPF have been working with the American Department of Justice to return the mineral to the country. “We want to send a signal that we will go after Brazil’s national property wherever it is and hold international traffickers accountable, so that they think twice before committing such a daring crime,” prosecutor Boni de Moraes Soares told the newspaper Washington Post.
According to the AGU, in 2022 the US Department of Justice accepted the Brazilian decision, validating the “affidavit” that attested to Brazil’s ownership of the piece.
The AGU claims to have worked since 2015 to block the emerald in American territory and ensure that the Brazilian court’s decision was respected. That year, a court in the US ordered restrictions to be placed on the stone, marking the beginning of the repatriation process.
