A rider faked a Maltese passport and driving licence, and an FEI letter, in an apparent attempt to convince people she had qualified for the Olympic Games.
Michelle Dejonghe, 30, has been given a three-year suspension and fined CHF6,000 (£5,280) following the bizarre fraud, which the FEI Tribunal described as “extremely serious offences, undermining the core values of fairness, integrity, and transparency in sport.”
Dejonghe first registered with the FEI in January 2019 through the Belgian equestrian federation, but has not yet competed in any international competitions.
In February 2024, she applied to change nationality from Belgium to Malta, through Malta’s equestrian federation. The FEI approved the change in March last year.
The situation took a strange turn in May 2024, when Belgian police contacted the FEI, asking if Dejonghe was an FEI-registered athlete, who intended to compete at Paris 2024.
The force also forwarded a copy of a letter entitled, “FEI confirmation for equestrian event at the Olympic Games”, which falsely “certified” that she was eligible for Paris 2024. It used the FEI’s letterhead, logo and an employee’s signature, without the FEI’s consent, which is believed to have been lifted from the FEI’s letter approving her change of sporting nationality.
On 8 May 2024, the FEI sent an email to the Belgian police stating that the Olympic “confirmation” document had not been issued by the FEI, as the FEI does not issue that type of document.
The FEI was then told by Malta’s equestrian federation that all the official state documents, which Dejonghe had submitted to both federations, were falsified – and that she does not have Maltese citizenship or residency.
Belgian and Maltese police were informed. The FEI also carried out its own investigations and received confirmation from Malta’s passport and transport offices that Dejonghe’s passport and driving licence were “indeed fake”. The Maltese transport office also stated that “according to her alleged ID number, the respondent does not possess any other Maltese driving licence”.
The FEI Tribunal stated that official confirmation regarding the falsified residence certificate is still pending, but that the equestrian federation of Malta has already confirmed that the respondent’s certificate of residency is a forgery.
The FEI cancelled Dejonghe’s change of nationality and sent her a letter, plus a follow-up email, to tell her that it had initiated disciplinary proceedings. It never received a reply and the FEI took its claim to the FEI Tribunal.
The FEI Tribunal chair asked the Belgian federation to get in contact with Dejonghe and provide her with relevant communications, which it did. She acknowledged receipt of the FEI Tribunal’s correspondence and “informed that everything was being handled by her lawyer”.
“Furthermore, the respondent stated that an ongoing investigation was being conducted into the perpetrator who was using her identity to commit fraud, which involved selling horses that did not exist,” stated the FEI Tribunal.
The Tribunal added that Dejonghe chose not to respond to the FEI’s claim and instead “limited her participation in the proceedings to acknowledge receipt of the panel’s letters and argue that someone was using her identity unlawfully”.
“No evidence was submitted by the respondent to prove such allegation,” stated the Tribunal.
The FEI Tribunal added that the exact purpose of the forgery of the Olympic letter “remains unknown”.
It said: “The FEI is aware that there is at least a third party(ies) victimised by the respondent and its FEI document, and as a result the Belgian police opened an investigation in this matter and contacted the FEI. Those proceedings are still ongoing, and the FEI was registered as an ‘aggrieved party/injured person’ aiming to stay informed of the outcome.”
It added: “The respondent willfully and deliberately misled the FEI and the equestrian federation of Malta, by falsifying the FEI document and providing the falsified Maltese documents, with the intention of obtaining the approval for a change of sport nationality.
“Such actions are deemed to be a significant breach of the FEI’s regulations, as they do not align with the fundamental values of the Olympic sport movement nor with the common principles of behaviour, fairness and sportsmanship.
Dejonghe has also been ordered to pay CHF1,500 (£1,320) costs, in addition to the CHF6,000 fine.
In its conclusion, the FEI Tribunal urged federations to scrutinise documents when athletes request a nationality change.
“While the respondent’s actions remain severely reprehensible, the panel cannot overlook the FEI’s assertion that the Maltese documents provided by the respondent in the process of changing her sports nationality are of poor quality and exhibit signs of manipulation (i.e., variety of fonts, sizes and text quality),” it stated.
“In this sense, the panel encourages the national federations, who are acquainted to the relevant documents and are responsible for filing those requests to the FEI, to always undertake a meticulous review of all documents submitted by the athletes seeking a change of sport nationality.”
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