Seizure and Legal Actions to Return It

On May 22, the President of Mongolia sent a letter to SDNY formally requesting the
offices "assistance in preserving Mongolias cultural heritage in this rare national
treasure by . . . seeking forfeiture of . . . the Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton."
On June 5, at the request of the President of Mongolia, several paleontologists
specializing in Tyrannosaurus Bataars examined the Bataar skeleton. They
concluded that it is a Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton that was unearthed from the
western Gobi Desert in Mongolia between 1995 and 2005. On June 18, SDNY filed a
civil action seeking the forfeiture of the Bataar skeleton and the district court issued
a warrant authorizing HSI to seize the Bataar skeleton.
On Sept. 24, SDNY filed an amended civil forfeiture complaint which included the
original paleontological reports, as well as additional reports from those same
paleontologists and others. The additional reports definitively state that the Bataar
skeleton came from Mongolia based on the particularized coloring of the bones.
On Feb. 14, U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, SDNY, entered a judgment forfeiting
the Bataar skeleton to the United States for its return to Mongolia.
The return of this cultural property to Mongolia culminates an investigation by HSI
New York, HSI Jacksonville, HSI Los Angeles, HSI Casper, HSI Cleveland, the SDNY,
the Mongolian State Investigation Authority and the Mongolian Criminal
Investigation Authority. Interpol Washington provided support in this investigation.
The forfeiture action was handled by the Asset Forfeiture Unit of SDNY. Assistant
U.S. Attorneys Sharon Cohen Levin and Martin S. Bell were in charge of the litigation.
The criminal case was handled by the Complex Fraud Unit. Bell was in charge of the
prosecution.
HSI plays a leading role in criminal investigations that involve the illegal
importation and distribution of cultural property, including the illicit trafficking of
cultural property, especially objects that have been reported lost or stolen. The HSI
Office of International Affairs, through its 75 attach offices in 48 countries, works
closely with foreign governments to conduct joint investigations, when possible.
The Bataar was seized in New York by ICEs Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
special agents after it sold at a Manhattan auction for $1.05 million.
The return of this cultural property to Mongolia is the culmination of an
investigation led by HSI New York and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern
District of New York (SDNY).

Repatriation Ceremony
The repatriation ceremony was conducted by ICE Director John Morton; U.S.
Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara; Chief of Office of the
President of Mongolia Tsagaan Puntsag and Mongolian Minister of Culture, Sport
and Tourism Oyungerel Tsedevdamba.
"This is one of the most important repatriations of fossils in recent years," said
Morton. "We cannot allow the greed of a few looters and schemers to trump the
cultural interests of an entire nation. Through this case, HSI special agents have once
again proven themselves to be the leading federal law enforcement experts in the
investigation and forfeiture of stolen foreign art, antiquities and relics. Because of
the collaborative effort between HSI and the U.S. Attorney's Office, we undo a great
wrong by returning this priceless dinosaur skeleton to the people of Mongolia."
Return ceremony on May 6th in NYC
Mongolian Laws
For almost a century, Mongolian law has firmly established that all paleontological
findings are government property and part of the nations rich cultural heritage.
Since 1924, the Mongolian government has prohibited personal ownership and
criminalized the export of items of cultural significance, such as dinosaur remains.
Arrests and Prosecutions
On Oct. 17, HSI special agents arrested Eric Prokopi, 38, of Gainesville, Fla., the
importer of the Bataar skeleton, on one count of conspiracy to smuggle illegal goods,
possess stolen property, and make false statements; one count of smuggling goods
into the United States and one count of interstate sale and receipt of stolen goods.
Prokopi, a self-described "commercial paleontologist" was arrested on charges
stemming from his illegal importation of the Bataar and other dinosaur fossils into
the United States.
On Dec. 27, shortly after his arrest, Prokopi pleaded guilty to engaging in a scheme
to illegally import the fossilized remains of numerous dinosaurs that had been
illegally removed from their native countries illegally and smuggled into the United
States. As part of his plea agreement, Prokopi consented to the forfeiture of the
Bataar skeleton. Prokopi also agreed to forfeit a second, nearly complete
Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton; a Saurolophus skeleton and an Oviraptor skeleton.
The skeletons were in his possession but have since been seized by HSI special
agents. He further agreed to forfeit his interest in a third Tyrannosaurus Bataar
skeleton, which was located in Great Britain.

Mr. Prokopi, whose age was given as 38, is free on bail recently reduced to $100,000
from $250,000 and is awaiting sentencing, now rescheduled for Aug. 30. He faces up
to 17 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. As part of his
guilty plea on Dec. 27, he agreed to forfeit the Tyrannosaurus skeleton; a second,
slightly smaller, T. bataar (from a Mongolian word for hero); and two Saurolophus
and two Oviraptor skeletons, among others he acknowledged illegally importing.
Mr. Prokopis lawyer, Georges Lederman, said he had advised his client not to make
any public statements before his sentencing, but he also said Mr. Prokopi was
cooperating with the government for a favorable outcome.

Additional Seizures/Repatriation Efforts

In addition to a Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton previously forfeited to the United
States and successfully repatriated by ICE to the Mongolian government May 6 by
ICE Director John Morton U.S. District Court Judge P. Kevin Castel signed a
judgment May 9 forfeiting other dinosaur fossils.
The new items forfeited include:

A Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton (the second Bataar);

One Saurolophus Angustirostris skeleton (the Hadrosaur);

One Oviraptor matrix containing at least five Oviraptor skeletons (the Raptor
Matrix); and

An additional Oviraptor skeleton (the Raptor).

U.S. District Court Judge Harold Baer signed a stipulation May 1 arranging for the
return of other fossils including:

An additional Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton (the third Bataar);

A rock slab containing two Gallimimus skeletons (the Gallimimus slab);
Two additional Gallimimus skeletons;
An Ankylosaurus skeleton and skull;
A Protoceratops skeleton; and

One restored composite egg nest display piece made of composite dinosaur
egg fossils.
These additional items were provided to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern
District of New York by Christopher Moore, a British citizen.
"Through this investigation, HSI special agents around the country have seized
numerous dinosaur skeletons that are pending repatriation to the government of
Mongolia," said James T. Hayes Jr., special agent in charge of HSI New York. "HSI
remains a committed partner in the effort to ensure that we investigate individuals

involved in stolen foreign art, antiquities, relics and the illicit fossil trade. We look
forward to returning these fossils to their rightful owner the government of
Mongolia."
A concurrent HSI investigation revealed that several additional Mongolian dinosaur
fossils had been illegally taken from Mongolia, including the Second Bataar and the
Raptor. During the investigation, Christopher Moore, a British fossil dealer,
contacted the U.S. attorneys office and informed the office of his possession of the
Moore dinosaurs. Upon being advised that the Moore dinosaurs had been stolen
from Mongolia, he agreed to send them to the U.S. government for their return to
Mongolia.
Meanwhile, two additional dinosaur fossils the Hadrosaur and the Raptor Matrix
were at one point in the possession of an auction house in California. The auction
house agreed to assist in facilitating their return to Mongolia, consenting to the
forfeiture of both items.
All of these fossils will now be returned to Mongolia as part of HSIs efforts to
facilitate the repatriation of fossils involved in this case.
Where is dino now?
When Mongolias most famous dinosaur, a relative of T. rex, returns to the Asian
country on May 18, it returns to a homeland rich in dinosaur fossils, but with scant
resources to display and study them.
But there are signs this dinosaur's celebrity status the Tarbosaurusskeleton made
headlines as the subject of a custody battle and federal smuggling case here in the
United States may help change that.
"We didn't have a single star who can be a representation of the whole
paleontological heritage that we have," Oyungerel Tsedevdamba, Mongolia's
minister of culture, sports and tourism, told LiveScience at a repatriation ceremony
for the fossil. "That's why [the dinosaur] became like a hero that fascinates everyone
and just awakened the Mongolian public to learn more about paleontological
heritage of the country."
W hen the dinosaur arrives on Saturday (May 18), the new national Dinosaur Day, it
will return to a country with no dedicated dinosaur museum, only three doctoratelevel paleontologists, and no university-level courses in paleontology. However,
Mongolian officials have plans to change all of this.
The Mongolian government hopes to establish the dinosaur museum,
with the Tarbosaurus as its first specimen, in an old Lenin museum. This museum

was established during communist times to display art and artifacts related to the
life of the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin.
However, ownershipof the former Lenin museum building is now tied up in a court
case. After the dinosaur arrives on May 18, the country's new National Dinosaur
Day, officials plan to house it in a temporary exhibition hall in the main square of the
capital Ulaanbaatar, Oyungerelsaid.
The new museum will register all Mongolia dinosaurs, including those sent abroad
on loan.