A Belgian show jumper was fined 6,000 Swiss francs (€6,400) and suspended from the sport for three years after forging a Maltese passport and driving licence in an apparent failed bid to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Early last year, Michelle Dejonghe successfully applied to the international body overseeing equestrian sports – Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) –to change her registered nationality from Belgian to Maltese.
Dejonghe had earlier supplied the Malta Equestrian Federation (MEF) with scanned copies of what appeared to be her Maltese passport, driving licence and residence certificate in support of her application, which the MEF signed.
But in May, the Belgian police contacted the FEI asking about Dejonghe while supplying a copy of a letter, purportedly from the federation, confirming her application to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games where she would compete for Malta.
The FEI told Belgian police it did not issue such documents, which it said Dejonghe had created by “extracting” the organisation’s letterhead, logo and the signature of one of its employees from a letter approving the requested change of nationality.
“The exact purpose of the forgery remains unknown,” the FEI said.
Soon after, Belgian police contacted the MEF which, after conducting further checks on the submitted documents with authorities found they had been forged.
The exact purpose of the forgery remains unknown
“We were conned; she built a complete story,” said a spokesperson for the MEF, adding Dejonghe had supplied promotional materials along with her application and official documents that appeared to show her enjoying a successful career.
The FEI later noted she had not taken part in any of its competitions since first registering with the federation in 2019, however.
“She showed us photos of her at events surrounded by an entourage... she went to a lot of trouble – and caused us a lot of problems,” the MEF spokesperson said.
She explained that Maltese equestrian athletes applying for the Olympics did so on their own behalf and not through the MEF; a survey of the Royal Belgian Equestrian Federation (KBRSF) website, by contrast, seems to suggest it selects its Olympic equestrian team.
However, Maltese Olympic Committee secretary general Kevin Azzopardi stressed that regardless of the forged FEI letter, “any Maltese athlete seeking to compete in the Olympic Games must be endorsed by us.”
Further investigation
The MEF subsequently reported Dejonghe to the police in Malta and sent a copy of the police report to investigators in Belgium.
And in September, the FEI received confirmation directly from Identità and Transport Malta that the passport and driving licence copies supplied by Dejonghe were fake. It noted that the authenticity or otherwise of the residence permit was still pending, however.
In a tribunal report, the FEI said the forged documents were “of poor quality and exhibiting signs of manipulation”.
The federation opened disciplinary proceedings against Dejonghe later that month. It said that after numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact her, she eventually claimed her identity had been stolen as part of a fraudulent scheme to sell horses that did not exist. However, “no evidence” was provided to substantiate the claim, it said.
Delivering its verdict on the case, the FEI said Dejonghe “wilfully and deliberately misled” it and the MEF, calling her actions a “significant breach” of regulations and “extremely serious offences”.
Her actions “do not align with the fundamental values of the Olympic sport movement nor with the common principles of behaviour, fairness and sportsmanship”, the federation said.
“The offence involved clear elements of fraud and deceit. By using falsified documents, the respondent sought to mislead officials and secure personal benefit”.
In addition to a fine of 6,000 Swiss francs (CHF), Dejonghe was ordered to pay the FEI’s legal costs of CHF 1,500 and suspended from taking part in or attending, including as a spectator, any event organised by the federation.
The MEF said it will take further steps to verify documents submitted to the organisation in the future.