The Dark Underbelly of The Booming Bones Trade

As art collectors, celebrities and wealthy investors dive into the fossil trade, dinosaur remains are becoming less scientific artifacts but commodities traded on the global market. “They are a luxury item affordable only to the wealthiest people, little different than fine art or classic cars or old bottles of whisky,’ says American paleontologist Steve Brusatte.

There are about 120 known specimens of T.Rex in the world. Over half of them are owned privately and are not available to the public. Many are owned anonymously sitting in the foyers of mansions around the world. While auctions houses point out that museums exist because wealthy collectors donated their collections, the current buyers regarded them as an investment like real estate or famous art works. As Thomas Carr, paleontologist at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin noted “It doesn’t matter if it is bought by some oligarch in Russia who says scientists can come and study it. You might as well take a sledgehammer to it and destroy it.”

?As private collections grow and fossil values soar, Russian oligarchs are turning to fossils as a means of converting their sanctioned wealth into stable assets. This raises valid concerns regarding potential misuse and the risk of money laundering.

Fossils can serve as a clandestine store of wealth. While museums may exhibit these fossils to the public, they also inadvertently provide a convenient platform for converting sanctioned currency into valuable assets. Notably, celebrities and affluent individuals, including Russian oligarchs, are increasingly allocating additional funds to the fossil industry, thereby creating a market that can potentially be exploited for illicit purposes.

The allure of fossils lies in their rarity and historical significance. However, this very appeal also renders them susceptible to misuse. As the value of fossils continues to soar so do the potential risks associated with this market, in particular money laundering, illicit financial transactions and faked fossils such as Archaeoraptor, a glued composite fossil sold to a Utah Museum. In November 2022 in Hong Kong, Christies pulled the auction of a T-Rex called Shen by an anonymous seller when it was pointed out that some of the bones including the head were replicas from another T-Rex called Stan. Only 80 of the 360 bones in Shen were original.

The interest shown by Russian oligarchs, and other bad actors in this market raise genuine concerns about the potential misuse of fossils as a means to convert sanctioned wealth and dark money into stable assets. “Investigators and investors alike must be acutely aware of the associated risks and take necessary precautions to prevent money laundering and illicit financial activities,” said money laundering expert Everett Stern.

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