Ownership battle continues for world's largest emerald with 230m pound price tag

The squabble over ownership of world's largest emerald, which is now valued at 230 million pounds, still continues in Los Angeles.

The Bahia emerald, among the biggest ever discovered at 380kg (840lb), was carried out of a mine in a Brazilian rainforest more than a decade ago by a team of pack mules, before being taken to the US and stored in a warehouse in New Orleans that was flooded by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Independent reported.

The emerald was then stolen from another warehouse, in Los Angeles and is said to have been involved in a transaction involving a notorious Colombian family that nearly resulted in "a blood bath" in the Nevada desert.

The gem trader Mark Downie, who was recently eliminated from the contest for its ownership, was the second claimant whose claim to the Bahia was found not credible, while in 2011 Californian businessman Tony Thomas claimed he paid Brazilian miners 60,000 dollars for the Bahia, before it was stolen from him.

Another trial awaits for a group of purported owners that includes the gem trader Kit Morrison.