The estranged wife of AFL star Ricky Olarenshaw has vowed to fight her husband as he tries to bring their young daughter back to Australia while she sits in a Bali prison accused of running a brothel.
Sarnanitha ‘Nitha’ Olarenshaw, an Instagram influencer with 20,000 followers, claims she was illegally detained when Indonesian police arrested her over allegations that her Flame Seminyak spa was actually a brothel.
Olarenshaw faces up to 12 years in prison if charged and found guilty of alleged “pornography and prostitution” activities at the spa.
But her lawyer, Donny Tri Istiqomah, told Daily Mail Australia she had been a victim of “exploitation” and “criminalisation” by foreigners.
Her lawyer was speaking outside the Bali Police Detention and Evidence Directorate, where Olarenshaw is being held along with Melbourne couple Michael and Lynley Le Grand, who were arrested separately for alleged prostitution at the nearby Pink Palace Spa.
Mr Istiqomah said Olarenshaw had suffered from depression since her arrest but was now ‘better than before and not crying all the time’.
But he revealed that she refused to let her nine-year-old daughter visit her there because of the traumatic environment.
He said Flame Spa only had “sensual massage, no intercourse” and that while Olarenshaw, who was Balinese, owned 99 percent of the shares to avoid local laws, he claimed all profits went to four Australians who had a stake in Flame.
Nitha Olarenshaw sits ‘depressed’ in her filthy police cell in Bali and fears her nine-year-old daughter will be returned to Australia because she is in custody
Olarenshaw has been held at the Bali Police Detention Center since her arrest last week, along with the Australian couple held separately over the Pink Palace spa case
Olarenshaw claims the four Australians are her estranged husband Ricky, his brother Darren and two other Bali-based Australians, Adam Dalby and Gregory Hinchliffe.
The spa is part of a chain of three Flame spas, with sister centers in Kuta and Canggu also closed by police following last month’s raid.
“The police have doubts because the legal document only had Nitha’s name on it,” Istiqomah said.”[But] this is a common practice in Bali.
“As we know, foreign investment in Indonesia should have a capital of at least Rupiah 10 billion (AU$1 million).
‘That’s why they usually use local people as owners. Many companies owned by foreigners use the Indonesian name, which is their wife’s name. Researchers must realize this.’
Mr Istiqomah said while Olarenshaw was in custody she feared her daughter would be taken back to Melbourne by her father from Nitha’s family in Bali.
The lawyer planned to meet with Balinese immigration officials at the international airport to prevent her from being deported from the country.
“Don’t take her daughter to Australia,” he said. “Nitha hopes that this matter can be concluded soon. She doesn’t feel guilty.’
He said her hearing, which he hoped would acquit her, took place on October 28.
Nitha Olarenshaw’s lawyer said she should be released quickly because she ‘did nothing wrong’ and that charges that could see her jailed for up to 12 years are misplaced
Nitha and Olarenshaw (above with their daughter) split earlier this year, after which the Flame Spa was raided in September, with police claiming it was being used for prostitution
Ricky Olarenshaw is said to have returned to Australia just days before Bali police raided the Flame spa in late September.
Nitha was taken into custody last week, along with three Flame employees.
The case is still under investigation, but prostitution and sex work are highly illegal in Bali and are considered a crime against ‘decency and morality’ in the country.
Flame Spa’s services range from $95 to $181 per session and its motto is said to have been: ‘Our service is more than just a sensual massage, it’s an erotic experience.
“Our goal is to ignite your flame.”
The Instagram profile reportedly advertised ‘Bali’s best sensual massage’.
The TikTok page is said to have advised customers to ‘bring your date or partner’ to ‘enjoy the experience with us’.
During a police raid on Flame, a massage therapist was found ‘completely naked’.
Females are housed separately from males in the Criminal Investigations Directorate building in Bali
Olarenshaw’s LinkedIn describes herself as the ‘self-employed’ owner of Flame Spa since July 2017 and her personal Instagram labels her a ‘womanpreneur’.
Since the allegations against her came to light, she has set her Instagram account, which has 23,000 followers, to private.
Olarenshaw moved to Bali after retiring from the AFL and has since become director of three F45 gym studios there.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting there was any wrongdoing on Olarenshaw’s behalf, or that he was aware of any alleged illegal activity taking place at the spa.
Nitha claims that she divorced her husband earlier this year. Her lawyer said she “just wants to live in peace with her daughter.”