New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has revealed that the Russian president Vladimir Putin pocketed his Super Bowl ring, worth more than 25,000 dollars during a 2005 meeting.
Kraft, at the time, claimed the diamond-encrusted bauble was a gift, but he now admits Putin stole it, and the White House intervened when he demanded it back, the New York Post reported.
Kraft explained that the incident happened while Sandy Weill and other business execs were in St. Petersburg.
The 72-year-old told the crowd at Carnegie Hall's Medal of Excellence gala at the Waldorf-Astoria that Putin put the ring in his pocket and walked away with three KGB guys around him.
Kraft released a statement then that stated that he decided to give Putin the ring as a symbol of the respect and admiration.
But he admitted on Thursday that he wanted the 4.94-carat bauble back.
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He revealed that he also got call from the George W. Bush-run White House, saying that presenting the ring would really be in the best interest of US-Soviet relations.
Kraft admitted that he had an emotional tie to the ring, and he wanted it back.
The ring is now reportedly kept in the Kremlin library.