Art News

Huge Diamond Forfeited in Ohio to Be Auctioned

CINCINNATI (AP).- A large yellow diamond — known as the “Golden Eye” — seized in a federal drug and money-laundering investigation in northeast Ohio is going on the auction block with the minimum starting bid set at $900,000. The 43.51-carat diamond belonged to a northeast Ohio businessman who was convicted of money laundering and conspiracy. Prosecutors said he tried to sell to an undercover FBI agent the diamond and an estate once owned by boxer Mike Tyson, all for $19.5 million and a boat. The gem — about an inch long, almost ¾-inch wide and nearly ½-inch deep — was seized in the sting operation and forfeited to the federal government. It is believed to be one of the largest internally flawless yellow diamonds, said Jenny Lynch, a spokeswoman for the online auction company Bid4Assets. The company, based in Silver Spring, Md., will auction the diamond next month for the U.S. Marshals Service. “This is the