Last September and October, 1,600 civil parties were formed during the trial which took place in Paris and which judged Sadri Fegaier, a billionaire who built his fortune on fraudulent commercial practices. Through his company Indexia and its subsidiaries (SFAM, Serena, Hubside, etc.), Fegaier was at the head of a network which improperly took sometimes large sums from the accounts of customers who had taken out insurance covering theft. and the breakage of smartphones and tablets. For some victims, the insurance contract has turned into a financial pit: some have been fleeced for tens of thousands of euros.
During this trial, another participant in this fraudulent organization appeared. This is Nicolas Deridder, a Belgian active in the equestrian world. While the victims’ nightmare was repeated every day before the Paris judicial court, the lawyer for UFC-Que Choisir – the French equivalent of Test-Achats – denounced a new practice. “We have evidence which shows that direct debit mandates were transmitted to other companies completely illegally, said Me Macchetto during a hearing and as reported in an article from UFC Que Choisir. We cannot stop there, otherwise, history will start again and today’s victims will come back to you.” One of the companies in question is that of Nicolas Deridder: Equestrian Cup.
“I check my accounts several times a day”
Manon Ledent lives in the Marseille region and is one of these new victims whose account was taken by the Belgian company Equestrian Cup. It all dates back to 2019 when she took out SFAM and Serena insurance. “I was sampled up to two or three times a month.” She managed to cancel her subscriptions “and I had peace of mind until 2024 because I no longer had any abusive deductions.” And, this year, she notices “to have been charged by a Belgian account for a premium pack at Equestrian Cup. I thought about it for a few days and understood, via Facebook, that it was linked to Serena.” Since September, she now says “quiet but I check my accounts several times a day.” In all likelihood, the Belgian company would have recovered customers’ banking data and repeated the same fraudulent mechanism.
Equestrian Cup: horses and fraudulent levies
Equestrian Cup plays on two fronts: the organization of international jumping competitions where many service providers remain unpaid. And the sale of “VIP” packs by unduly taking from former customers of Fegaier’s companies. How ? The billionaire would have transmitted part of his clients’ databases and their banking details to Deridder. “They took my signature and my personal information for a contract that I gave no validation to,” explains this victim in an article in Le Parisien. “He’s Fegaier’s straw man”estimates one of our sources.
A former associate: “never hear from Deridder again”
Who is this Nicolas Deridder? Following the Paris trial and the fact that his company appeared in the schemes, the thirty-year-old disappeared from social networks. When searching a little, his name appears as a constellation due to a multitude of unpaid bills. Nicolas Deridder gravitates towards the equestrian world. Not necessarily within the local arena of his former home in Wolvertem, in Flemish Brabant where, according to our survey “no one knows him“. What Nicolas Deridder appreciates is international show jumping and the glitter that is part of this sport where large sums of money are involved. The one who started as an equestrian photographer found himself, in July 2023, at the head of the organization of a first international jumping competition (CSI 4*) in Moerzeke. “We are trying to make this first stage in Moerzeke as beautiful and prestigious as possible”said Deridder in an interview with local television TVO. And to discuss future prospects: “We were also looking for another prestigious destination and we chose Saint-Tropez.”
See the interview with Nicolas Deridder given to local TV TVO a few days before the Moerzeke competition
The following year, he organized an international show jumping event in Grimaud, not far from Saint-Tropez. During these two events, many service providers were cheated. For the Belgian round of Moerzeke, he joined forces with the owner of the venue where the competition took place. We contacted this well-known owner in the real estate sector. Response from his lawyer: “My client does not wish to be involved or mentioned in any article about Nicolas Deridder and his reprehensible practices. For my client, Nicolas Deridder is a closed chapter that we no longer want to hear about.“
Everyone now seems to be distancing themselves from this young guy with long teeth and questionable practices. Starting with the Flemish Equestrian Federation. Paardensport Vlaanderen vzw which confirms to us that it is aware “problems that occurred during CSI Moerzeke“. And to complete that “the organization has already fulfilled all its obligations”. According to our information, the owner of the premises associated with the Moerzeke jumping would have “sorted things out later“, a source tells us. “An international show jumping event of this level is a lot to run.“We are talking about a budget of 1.5 million”and it was a total fiasco. A whole bunch of people haven’t been paid.”
Deridder on the blacklist of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI)
Then, Nicolas Deridder returned to Saint-Tropez. “Rather than saying to himself: ‘I was wrong’, he repeats another event,” comments our source. And that’s when the connections with Sadri Fegaier began to take shape. “Fegaier already had a bad reputation.” The businessman is excessively wealthy and loves horses. Fegaier is also a good rider who shines in fairly tough competitions. With Fegaier, Deridder thinks he has bet on the right horse and finds the opportunity to approach these stars of which he desperately dreams… “But it’s been a fiasco after a fiasco…” The list of unpaid service providers and riders not receiving their bonuses is long. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) sums it up “to make an early deposit” on a blocked account in view of the next organization planned in Valencia by Nicolas Deridder and his company Equestrian Cup. The FEI confirms to us that the event has been canceled following “non-payment of the deposit”. And jumping was then removed from the international calendar.due to non-payment of athletes and officials in previous competitions organized by Equestrian Cup.”
“Trickery offenses”
The Equestrian Cup website has since been closed. The only reference that we now find is a parody site denouncing the fraudulent practices of Nicolas Deridder. The injured party cites Deridder by name and warns: “Nicolas Deridder and his company Equestrian Cup Events fraudulently invoiced our stable and collected $18,000 for a VIP table at a horse show in Saint-Tropez.” There is also this manager of a hotel in Valencia who asks him “€5,600 in unpaid debts”, “it would be customary to respect horse riding codes and not commit fraud offenses.” Another said he was aggrieved “€15,000 transport by semi-trailer” dus par Equestrian Cup. “Nicolas Deridder has neither the means nor the intention to do so (pay). We receive false proof of transfer.”
For this Saint-Tropez company active in the rental of handling equipment: same mechanism. “Equestrian Cup ordered more than €9,000 worth of rental machines from us…”
FPS Economy and Brussels public prosecutor’s office on the spot
On the ECB (Banque Carrefour des Entreprises), Nicolas Deridder’s address in Wolvertem appears in four different companies where he is – or would have been – director or manager. Some of its companies are considered inactive or have been deregistered. Concerning Equestrian Cup (headquartered in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe), no account has been published since its creation in 2023. Alerted by the alleged embezzlement of the equestrian company, the FPS Economy sent a report to the public prosecutor’s office from Brussels. The latter did not wish to comment. “in the interest of the investigation“
The person concerned completely disappeared from the radar and we were unable to contact him directly. We went to the address provided in Wolvertem. This is his mother’s home and we were told that Nicolas Deridder no longer lives there. We also asked his mother to put us in contact with her son but without response from her.
As for Sadri Fegaier, the public prosecutor’s office requested the maximum sentence: 2 years in prison, including 18 months. The judgment is expected to be delivered on December 2.
