Nicolas Cage to give back stolen Mongolian fossil

However, the Department of Homeland Security contacted Cage in July 2014 while an investigation was underway over whether it was illegally taken from Mongolia, Cage’s publicist told Reuters. Cage is not accused of wrongdoing and the authorities said he voluntarily agreed to turn over the skull after learning of the circumstances.

Cage had purchased the rare Tyrannosaurus bataar skull back in 2007, unaware that it had entered the country illegally, according to Reuters.

The skull will be returned to US authorities and then repatriated to Mongolia. The actor has agreed to surrender the skull, though the question about whether he’ll receive a refund still remains unanswered.

Tarbosaurus bataar lived during the Cretaceous period and disappeared some 65 million years ago.

Cage bought the skull of the Tyrannosaurus bataar in 2007 from a gallery in Beverley Hills for NZ$403,000 and it came with a certificate of authenticity, the BBC reports. “It belongs to the people of Mongolia”, said ICE Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Glenn Sorge.

In court papers obtained by the AP, prosecutors said that the skull was unlawfully taken from the Gobi Desert and was shipped from Japan to Gainesville, Fla., in June 2006 by being falsely labeled as “fossil stone pieces”.

I.M. Chait did not respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.

Cage and Wood will play a pair of dodgy cops who attempt to pull off a heist after discovering their local grocery store contains a secret vault stuffed with drug money.

Since 2012, Bharara’s office has regained over a dozen Mongolian fossils, including three Tyrannosaurus bataar skeletons that were complete.

Mongolia made the exports of dinosaur fossils illegal in 1924.