The ‘Bahia Emerald’, worth $370 million, is currently in the possession of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Available for auction by eBay, at one time, for $75 million, the gem has been the center of several lawsuits, and the court has yet to establish its real owner.

According to Lt. Thomas Grubb of the Major Crimes Bureau, the 850-pound emerald, the second-largest stone of its kind, was discovered in Brazil. In September it was reportedly stolen “through falsification of paperwork”, from a secured vault in South El Monte and later warehoused in Las Vegas.

The report was made a California man, who claimed to be the owner of the 180,000-carat gemstone. He is involved in a dispute with a company he hired with to sell it, and a prospective buyer.

In court papers, the contracted company said it had received an offer of $19 million, which it desired to accept. The company also alleged that the owner of the emerald later tried to sell it to the same buyer for $75 million, through a broker.

Tracing the gemstone to a Las Vegas, Nevada, warehouse, the detectives found that the person in possession of the stone claimed to be the rightful owner.

Till the dispute of the ownership of the emerald is sorted out, a federal judge has ordered the sheriff to keep custody of the gem!