By Zach Hope and Amilia Rosa
Singapore/Bali: Essendon premiership player Ricky Olarenshaw was the “mastermind” behind an erotic massage business in Bali, according to new claims by his wife from her jail cell.
Lawyers for the ex-footballer’s estranged Balinese wife, Ni Ketut Sri Astari Sarnanitha, or Nitha, claimed in the Denpasar District Court on Monday that Olarenshaw and his three Australian business partners were the ones who pushed the business, Flame Spa Bali, into risqué areas, and that their client had been exploited and made a scapegoat.
Essendon premiership player Ricky Olarenshaw and his wife, Sarnanitha, in 2023.Credit: Facebook
Nitha claims that in 2023 they argued about the direction of the business in which Olarenshaw allegedly wanted employees to start offering “sensual” and “body-to-body” massages.
Nitha “firmly and strongly rejected” the addition of these services because she worried they could lead to violations of Indonesian laws, her lawyers claimed. Prostitution is illegal in Indonesia.
Flame Spa was raided in early September and police allegedly discovered evidence that therapists were offering oral and manual sex. Nitha, a Balinese entrepreneur and influencer, was later detained. Her team argues the arrest and ongoing detention is invalid for several reasons, including that Olarenshaw was the “brain or mastermind behind all activities at Flame Spa”.
Police have said Nitha was arrested because it was her name on the business papers. None of the Australians are accused of breaking Indonesian laws. This masthead has made multiple attempts over several weeks to contact Olarenshaw and another partner, Gregory Campbell Hinchliffe, but has been unsuccessful.
Nitha’s lawyers claimed the troubles began in August this year when the marriage broke down.
This presented a looming problem for the business because, on paper, it was 99 per cent owned by Nitha. Another Indonesian citizen, Ni Made Purnami Sari, who is also in custody and being represented by Nitha’s lawyers, owned the remaining 1 per cent.
“To get around [foreign investment requirements], the company is registered with Indonesian citizens, namely [Sari] and [Nitha],” the lawyers claimed. “In some cases, including at Flame Spa, the easiest and safest way to keep their business under control … is to marry Indonesian women, especially Balinese, then the business is made in the name of his wife.”
Worried they would lose their money after the marriage split, two of Olarenshaw’s partners, Adam John Dalby and Gregory Campbell Hinchliffe, had contacted Nitha directly.
Flame was raided on September 2 by the Bali Police Criminal Investigation Directorate.
Nitha’s lawyers claim the police officers “forced the staff to turn off CCTV. When the staff refused to do so, the officers then pointed the camera upwards to prevent the camera from capturing the officers’ faces”.
The lawyers claimed the business was set up by Olarenshaw and Nitha in 2019. Needing more capital, Olarenshaw later brought in Dalby, Hinchliffe, and his brother, Darren Olarenshaw.
None of the Australians were in court on Monday and have not had an opportunity to defend themselves. This masthead has attempted to send the translated allegations to both Olarenshaw and Hinchliffe.
This masthead does not suggest any of the people associated with the operations of the business were aware of any illegal activity allegedly happening inside. None of the men have been charged by the police and are not accused of any crime.
Speaking outside court, the lawyer for Bali police said: “Investigators followed procedure [and] followed the law.”
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