Experts proved that the skeleton
– 8 feet (2.4m) tall and 24 feet (7.3m) long Tyrannosaurus bataar is original
from Mongolia said P.Tsagaan, an Advisor for the President of Mongolia. He just
came back from U.S. The group of experts scientist, officials from Ministry of
Education, Science and Culture, including P.Tsagaan have checked s skeleton in
U.S. “Now we hope Tyrannosaurus bataar will return to Mongolia. This case to wake
up Mongolian Customs and Police officials. This only one case we catch up.
Mongolian Police working on that now. We guess the skeleton was took away from
Mongolian between 1995-2005. There is no Customs declaration it was took from
Mongolia. But skeleton came to U.S from England in 2005. This case will examine
capability of Mongolian lawyers” said P.Tsagaan.

U.S. authorities said on Wednesday they
expect this week to seize a 70-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton that was
discovered in Mongolia more than 65 years ago and now is stored in New York and
at the center of an international legal dispute informed Reuter.

A federal judge in New York has signed a warrant that allows the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security to seize the skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus
bataar – an Asian cousin of the North American Tyrannosaurus rex – from
Dallas-based Heritage Auctions.

“We should have it by the end of the week,” said Luis Martinez, a
spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The seizure will be a “major step forward” for the government of
Mongolia, which is claiming sovereign ownership and seeking the skeleton”s
return, said Robert Painter, a Houston attorney who represents Mongolian
President Elbegdorj Tsakhia.

The skeleton – 8 feet (2.4m) tall and 24 feet (7.3m) long – has been stored
in crates in New York City since Heritage sold it at auction to an unidentified
buyer for more than $1 million on May 20.

At the request of the Mongolian government, a U.S. District judge in Dallas
issued a restraining order preventing the skeleton from being moved or the
ownership transferred while the dispute is pending.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking the
forfeiture of the nearly intact skeleton and its return to the Mongolian
government.

In New York, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel on Tuesday issued an order to
seize the fossil, ruling there was probable cause it was subject to forfeiture
under federal laws.

“From a legal standpoint, the U.S. government”s lawsuit shifts the
burden of proof from Mongolia to Heritage and others who might make a claim to
its ownership,” Painter said.

Heritage officials have said they will continue to cooperate with
authorities. They say the skeleton was legally obtained and brought to auction
by a reputable consignor.

“We believe our consignor purchased fossils in good faith, then spent a
year of his life and considerable expense identifying, restoring, mounting and
preparing what had previously been a much less valuable matrix of unassembled,
underlying bones and bone fragments,” Jim Halperin, co-chairman of Heritage
Auctions, said in a statement. “We sincerely hope there is a just and fair
outcome for all parties.”

Federal officials said smugglers made false statements about the skeleton
when it was imported into the United States from Britain in 2010. The skeleton
did not originate in Britain nor was its value only $15,000 as claimed, they
said.

The skeleton was discovered in 1946 during a joint Soviet-Mongolian
expedition to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia”s Omnogovi Province, Bharara said.
Mongolia has had laws in place since 1924 prohibiting the export of dinosaur
fossils that are considered national treasures and government property.

Heritage Auctions and the Mongolian government agreed in May to jointly
investigate the ownership of the skeleton. Several paleontologists examined the
skeleton several weeks ago and determined it was removed from the western Gobi
Desert in Mongolia between 1995 and 2005.