Overview
- At a ceremony in Paris, Public Accounts Minister Amélie de Montchalin presented the dinosaur remains to Mongolian officials at the Economy Ministry.
- The repatriation covers 29 fossils packed in nine crates, including a quasi-complete Tarbosaurus baatar and dinosaur eggs.
- Investigators say the specimens were looted from the Gobi Desert, routed through South Korea, and seized by French customs in Gannat on February 16, 2015.
- Customs report identifying organizers from France, Belgium, and Germany, with an investigator citing a German sponsor for the restituted lot.
- The Tarbosaurus was valued around €700,000 at seizure, and customs now estimate two to three times that in a market buoyed by headline auction sales.