MONGOLIA REPATRIATE DINOSAUR FOSSILS STOLEN AND ILLEGALLY TRAFFICKED ABROAD
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A ceremony marking the signing of a handover agreement for dinosaur fossils confiscated by the law enforcement authorities of the French Republic in 2013 and 2015 was held in Paris on 8 December 2025. Under the agreement, the fossils are being returned to Mongolia free of charge. The event was attended by Ms. Undram Chinbat, Minister of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth of Mongolia; Ms. Amélie de Montchalin, Minister of Public Accounts and Public Action of France; and officials from both countries.
The fossils were discovered during inspections of a ship arriving from Brazil and at the premises of the company “Creazaurus” prompting the launch of an investigation in 2015. In 2016, French authorities submitted a request for mutual legal assistance to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Mongolia. Subsequent investigations confirmed that the Tarbosaurus bataar fossils seized in the city of Lyon originated from Mongolia.
Following years of cooperation among law enforcement agencies, diplomatic missions and relevant ministries of both countries, the Lyon Court of Appeal ruled on 10 June 2025 that 29 sets of dinosaur fossils be returned to Mongolia, bringing an end to a case that had spanned more than a decade.
The recovered collection includes a Tarbosaurus bataar, complete skeletal remains of theropods and oviraptorosaurs and various fossilized elements such as teeth, ribs, jaws, vertebrae, claws, femurs, ankle bones, as well as theropod oviraptorosaur eggs. The fossils are considered to be of significant scientific value.
Officials noted that Mongolia’s accession in 1992 to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and in 2024 to the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects, had a positive impact on the process of recovering these fossils.
In her opening remarks at the ceremony, Minister Ms. Undram Chinbat expressed gratitude to the institutions and officials of both sides who worked to protect Mongolia’s lawful rights and to create the conditions for returning the fossils to their country of origin. She emphasized that the looting of cultural heritage and the greed driving illegal trade should not diminish or impoverish the value of any people or place in the world. She called on all parties to make effective efforts to prevent and combat such crimes and stated that the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth of Mongolia is ready to ensure full participation in developing this cooperation.
The dinosaur fossils being returned to Mongolia will be transferred to the Natural History Museum, where detailed scientific research will be conducted in accordance with scientific methodologies. It is preliminarily planned that some of the fossils will be displayed in the Paleontology Section of the National Museum of Natural Science, which is scheduled to open in 2026.
A ceremony marking the signing of a handover agreement for dinosaur fossils confiscated by the law enforcement authorities of the French Republic in 2013 and 2015 was held in Paris on 8 December 2025. Under the agreement, the fossils are being returned to Mongolia free of charge. The event was attended by Ms. Undram Chinbat, Minister of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth of Mongolia; Ms. Amélie de Montchalin, Minister of Public Accounts and Public Action of France; and officials from both countries.
The fossils were discovered during inspections of a ship arriving from Brazil and at the premises of the company “Creazaurus” prompting the launch of an investigation in 2015. In 2016, French authorities submitted a request for mutual legal assistance to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Mongolia. Subsequent investigations confirmed that the Tarbosaurus bataar fossils seized in the city of Lyon originated from Mongolia.
Following years of cooperation among law enforcement agencies, diplomatic missions and relevant ministries of both countries, the Lyon Court of Appeal ruled on 10 June 2025 that 29 sets of dinosaur fossils be returned to Mongolia, bringing an end to a case that had spanned more than a decade.
The recovered collection includes a Tarbosaurus bataar, complete skeletal remains of theropods and oviraptorosaurs and various fossilized elements such as teeth, ribs, jaws, vertebrae, claws, femurs, ankle bones, as well as theropod oviraptorosaur eggs. The fossils are considered to be of significant scientific value.
Officials noted that Mongolia’s accession in 1992 to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and in 2024 to the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects, had a positive impact on the process of recovering these fossils.
In her opening remarks at the ceremony, Minister Ms. Undram Chinbat expressed gratitude to the institutions and officials of both sides who worked to protect Mongolia’s lawful rights and to create the conditions for returning the fossils to their country of origin. She emphasized that the looting of cultural heritage and the greed driving illegal trade should not diminish or impoverish the value of any people or place in the world. She called on all parties to make effective efforts to prevent and combat such crimes and stated that the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth of Mongolia is ready to ensure full participation in developing this cooperation.
The dinosaur fossils being returned to Mongolia will be transferred to the Natural History Museum, where detailed scientific research will be conducted in accordance with scientific methodologies. It is preliminarily planned that some of the fossils will be displayed in the Paleontology Section of the National Museum of Natural Science, which is scheduled to open in 2026.