Paleotologist From Novosibirsk Accused Of Smuggling Of Fossils Of Ancient Animals

The law enforcement bodies of Novosibirsk (a major industrial and scientific centre in West Siberia) have accomplished the investigation of the case of the owner of the local paleontologic museum. Well-known Russian paleontologist Igor Grebnev is accused of mass smuggling abroad rare fossils of ancient animals. According to the data of the Prosecutor's office, he excavated in Siberia and the Far East or bought up fossils of rare animals for a song from local residents and exported them for sale in Germany, Great Britain, the USA, Japan, the Netherlands, Australia and other countries. Last summer the Prosecutor's office initiated criminal proceedings against the paleontologist. Not long before this he intended to sell to a private US collector a mammoth's skeleton which could have been a decoration of any Russian museum, the experts say. The smuggler dismantled the skeleton in order to send it by several parcels. The scientist himself does not admit his guilt and says that he allegedly sent his valuable finds to international exhibitions.