Edited by Keli Fisher Clarification Notes . Viscount Charles de Noailles was the husband of Marie-Laure de Noailles, who was one of de Sade's direct descendants. . The manuscript passed down to Natalie de Noailles (daughter of Marie-Laure and Viscount Charles). She gave the manuscript to Jean Grouet for safekeeping, which he then stole and smuggled the manuscript to Switzerland. . (Current case) In 1990, a French court ruled in favor of de Noailles and ordered the manuscript's return. This was overruled by a Swiss court in 1998, who ruled that Gérard Nordmann purchased the manuscript in good faith. The manuscript seemingly stayed with Nordmann until it was bought by Gérard Lhéritier in 2004. . In 2017, France’s ministry of culture designated it a National Treasure, which placed a block on its export. . Following the purchase of the manuscript by an unnamed private foundation in 2014, the French government appealed to corporate help to purchase the manuscript. This led to its purchase by Emmanuel Boussard, who is co-founder of the Boussard & Gavaudan investment fund.