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Nicolas Cage Agrees to Return Stolen Dinosaur Skull to Mongolian Government
Posted On Dec 27 2015
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Cage spent almost $300,000 for the privilege, reportedly outbidding fellow actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who filed a complaint last week about the skull, referred to Prokopi as a “one-man black market in prehistoric fossils”.
The skull, which originally belonged to a Tyrannosaurus bataar, was snatched up at the Beverly Hills gallery I.M. Chait for a hefty price tag of $276,000.
The actor has not been accused of any crime, and he voluntarily agreed to return the skull to USA authorities.
NY prosecutors last week said they were seeking court approval to take custody of the skull so it could be returned to Mongolia. Cage’s publicist confirmed to Reuters that the “National Treasure” star was the owner of the skull and that he has not been accused of any crime. In 2014, DHS contacted Cage’s representatives to inform him that it believed the fossil he had purchased may have been illegally smuggled into the USA from Mongolia. “Overall, this remarkable specimen is scientifically accurate and important”, it added, with the 32-inch (80-centimeter) skull 65 percent complete.
The Tyrannosaurus bataar is a close relative of the more famous Tyrannosaurus rex. However, bataar remains have been discovered only in Mongolia, making them extremely rare finds. The Telegraph reported in 2013 that “a dinosaur skull bought by the actor Nicolas Cage is at the heart of an investigation into illicit fossil smuggling”, adding, “the skull was obtained byIM Chaitfrom Eric Prokopi, a self-described “commercial palaeontologist” who pleaded guilty previous year to illegally importing fossils from Mongolia and China”.
There is no word on whether or not Nicolas Cage knew or had any connection to Prokopi, but investigators don’t believe so.
In recent years, there has been an worldwide effort to return stolen artifacts to their rightful countries-with Mongolia, in particular, receiving many priceless fossils, skeletons, and artifacts taken overseas.
