Madam who ran Bali brothel for former AFL star Ricky Olarenshaw lifts lid on X-rated antics

The madam who ran Bali brothels for former AFL star Ricky Olarenshaw, his estranged wife and an Australian couple has revealed what went on behind closed doors at the two illegal “sensual spas”.

The madam who ran Bali brothels for a former AFL star, his estranged wife and an Australian couple has revealed how a chance meeting at a popular South Melbourne bar set her on a path to prison.

Breaking her silence for the first time, ex-manager Hannah – not her real name – has lifted the lid on the X-rated practices that went on behind closed doors at two illegal “sensual spas” owned by former Essendon premiership champion Ricky Olarenshaw’s ex Saranitha and Sandringham couple Michael and Lynley Le Grand.

The jobs ultimately landed Saranitha, Hannah and the Le Grands behind bars at the notorious Kerobokan prison in Bali.

Hannah finished her seven-month stint two weeks ago.

Speaking exclusively to the Herald Sun, Hannah said she managed Canggu’s Flame Spa and the Pink Palace spa in Kuta between 2023 and last year, where she oversaw services that included “body slide massages”, paid oral sex and private parties.

“A sensual body slide is where the girl is naked … They have blow jobs as well (for extra cost),” she said.

Hannah* has lifted the lid on what went on inside the brothel she ran for former AFL star Ricky Olarenshaw. Picture: Supplied

Olarenshaw and his ex-wife Sarnanitha. Picture: Facebook

The revelations come after Saranitha, also known as Nitha, was last week released from prison after serving seven months behind bars for running Flame Spa.

Hannah and Nitha served their prison terms together, saying she went from spending her time working and raising her 15-year-old son to sleeping on thin mats shoulder-to-shoulder with 30 other inmates packed into one cell “like mackerels in a can”.

Hannah said the idea of running Ricky and Nitha’s explicit business venture was floated several years after she partied with the embattled couple at the Albion Rooftop in 2016 while living in Australia.

“I’ve known them for a really long time, especially Nitha, until one time I met Ricky at the rooftop,” she said from her home in Bali.

Hannah, who is Indonesian, returned home in December 2019, where talk of her running Flame emerged before Nitha, a friend she had known since high school, arranged an informal job interview with Ricky.

“They trusted me to run the place, so whatever I decided, they let me make any decisions.”

Saranitha during her detention in Polda Prison. Picture: Supplied

Ricky Olarenshaw pictured inside Flame Spa. Picture: Supplied

The Herald Sun in February revealed the true inner workings of the brothels, where Olarenshaw was allegedly involved in planning “invite only” parties and providing advice on how to attract more customers.

Hannah said “Bali expats” such as AFL players made up a large number of the spas’ clientele.

Ricky has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged

Hannah had left her job at Flame, owned by Ricky and Nitha, in 2023 before meeting the Le Grands through mutual connections last year.

She then took up a similar job for the couple, who are from Sandringham in Melbourne.

Like Flame, Pink Palace offered “body slide” massages and oral sex, but the services offered by the Le Grands’ venue also included sex with staff for an additional cost.

Hannah said she had only been working at Pink Palace for about three months when it emerged that Balinese police had raided Ricky and Nitha’s brothel in September, sparking panic among workers who feared their venue would be raided next.

Speculation about the raid ran wild among staff, who believed a disgruntled investor who had not received dividends from Flame alerted authorities to the clandestine operation.

Ex-Essendon player Ricky Olarenshaw and his former wife Saranitha. Picture: Facebook

After watching police raid Pink Palace on terrifying CCTV footage from her home in October, Hannah and almost two dozen workers were detained and interrogated by authorities before they were remanded in Polda Prison, before being transferred to Kerobokan prison.

The Le Grands later admitted that Pink Palace had been operating as a brothel.

They were mysteriously released temporarily with several workers including Hannah, before they were reimprisoned earlier this year.

Both Flame and Pink Palace breached Indonesian laws, which forbid prostitution because it is considered a “crime against decency and morality” and carry up to 12 years’ jail.

Hannah said she was held in isolation for a week before spending her sentence cleaning drains – a common job dished out to new inmates – while trying to avoid Nitha and Lynley.

The Le Grands admitted that Pink Palace had been operating as a brothel. Picture: Facebook

While tensions between Hannah and Nitha flared briefly during an argument that unfolded when Nitha tried to make up with her high school friend, the women mostly kept apart.

Inmates woke up at 4am each morning and could walk around or do other activities such as reading until guards locked them back down in their cramped cells at 4.30pm.

“You have a good life before, and suddenly you’re stuck in prison,” Hannah said.

“I had to leave my family behind, and the feeling just punched me hard.”

After her release on April 22, Hannah said she had vowed to turn her life around for the sake of her son.

She hoped to enrol in a business management court at Macquarie University and one day run a business of her own

“I would do things differently.”

Hannah said she has cut herself off from Rick and Nitha, but claimed the Le Grands owed her several months’ worth of unpaid wages.

Originally published as Madam who ran Bali brothel for former AFL star Ricky Olarenshaw lifts lid on X-rated antics