PARIS: France on Monday handed over a 70-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton to Mongolia, which was looted from the Gobi Desert and seized by French customs, as the Asian country seeks to recover lost relics.

The “extremely rare” fossil of a Tarbosaurus bataar, considered to be the Asian cousin of the fearsome Tyran­nosaurus rex, was seized by French officials in 2015.

Public Accounts Minister Amelie de Montchalin handed over the items, including dinosaur eggs, to Undram Chinbat, Mongolia’s culture and sports minister, at a ceremony in Paris. “Today, a piece of the Gobi Desert is about to return to its homeland,” de Montchalin said.

“This is the result of a very long and meticulous investigation. It is the restitution of a scientific and cultural treasure.” The dinosaur skeleton had been looted from the Gobi Desert before passing through South Korea and was confiscated by customs in central France in February 2015.

“For me and for all the Mongolian people, it’s imperative to have our dinosaur fossils back,” Chinbat said, thanking France for the handover.

The fossils will be displayed at a museum that Mongolia is planning to open in the near future, she said.

“Until then, these fossils will be sent back and studied and restored,” she said.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2025