In February final yr, former Essendon star Ricky Olarenshaw celebrated his fiftieth birthday with a Playboy-themed social gathering, surrounded by scantily clad ladies and AFL mates.
Dressed as Playboy editor-in-chief Hugh Hefner in a smoking jacket and sailor hat, along with his spouse Nitha beaming by his aspect, the so-called ‘King of Bali’ was in his ingredient.
“Due to everybody for making an effort to decorate up and look all attractive,” he instructed the visitors.
The Seminyak substitute for the Playboy mansion was the Flame Spa — now the supply of a legal investigation, worldwide scandal and bitter dispute.
Final month, Bali police raided the spa and uncovered what they allege is proof the venue was engaged in prostitution.
They are saying the raid uncovered a therapist in a “utterly bare situation,” and allege that additional investigations revealed therapists providing a variety of sexual companies.
The web site for Flame Spa says: “Our service is greater than only a sensual therapeutic massage; it’s an erotic expertise,” whereas the enterprise’s Fb web page guarantees “60 minutes of body-to-body therapeutic massage, culminating in an eruptive therapeutic massage method that’ll go away you feeling 100 per cent.”
Prostitution is unlawful in Indonesia and selling or promoting it could carry jail sentences of as much as 12 years.
Flame Spa’s web site says “we strictly prohibit sexual activity” and its HR supervisor insisted to the ABC there was no intercourse concerned on the spa.
Nonetheless, 5 individuals — all ladies — had been arrested.
Amongst them was former AFL participant Ricky Olarenshaw’s now estranged spouse, Balinese social media influencer and obvious proprietor of Flame, Sarnanitha — also referred to as Nitha.
However for the reason that arrest, the plot has thickened, with Nitha’s lawyer Donny Tri Istiqomah claiming his consumer is the sufferer of dodgy police work, exploitation and threats by one other Australian man to herald “very highly effective individuals”.
‘There’s an amicable strategy to settle this or we escalate the conflict’
Donny claims his consumer was solely ever the “on-paper” proprietor of Flame Spa and that the true house owners had been her husband Ricky, together with three different Australian males.
The Spa’s HR supervisor Okky Wirtayasa instructed the ABC this was at all times his understanding too.
The ABC has additionally been supplied with images that seem to indicate two of the lads with piles of money that Donny says is fee of dividends in addition to dividend receipts with their names on it.
Neither of the lads within the pictures is Olarenshaw.
Donny says that in August, Ricky and Nitha separated removed from amicably, and the Australian enterprise companions bought spooked.
In a textual content alternate seen by the ABC, one of many companions seems to threaten Nitha.
“Promote me your shares or we shut it down without end and jail all of you,” the message reads.
“There’s an amicable strategy to settle this or we escalate the conflict. Your alternative.
“Assume to your child’s sake do not do foolish issues.”
In a separate group message, the identical man tells her he has “the backing of some very highly effective individuals”.
Not lengthy after these messages had been despatched, Donny says Flame Spa was raided.
“I do not perceive the police — they’re conscious that Nitha was exploited however why did they nonetheless maintain the assault towards her?” he instructed the ABC.
He additionally claims two of the alleged Australian house owners, who weren’t Olarenshaw, had been current in the course of the raid and that when employees would not flip off CCTV cameras as instructed, police turned them upwards so the raid would not be caught on digital camera.
Donny has now taken his considerations over the police actions to the Inner Affairs Division on the Nationwide Police Headquarters in Bali, and reported the Australians allegedly concerned to nationwide immigration authorities.
A spokesperson for Bali Police, Senior Commissioner Jansen Avitus, instructed the ABC the investigative course of was ongoing and to “be affected person and look forward to the authorized certainty of the instances.”
“We have carried out a good investigation, the authorized course of is ongoing and certainly authorized certainty will probably be achieved quickly,” he instructed the ABC.
“In the event that they discovered an oddity within the course of, there is a process to report that. Deliver all of the proof and report it to Police Inner Affairs.
“A high lawyer would be capable of show their consumer is harmless and free them of all prices they usually can try this later in courtroom.”
The ABC has tried to contact all 4 males allegedly concerned and isn’t suggesting any of them together with Ricky Olarenshaw had been conscious of the alleged criminal activity or had been co-owners of the spa.
Separate Australian couple additionally in custody
The raids additionally resulted within the arrest of Australian couple Michael and Lynley Le Grand, at a separate spa, the Pink Palace.
Based on a Bali police spokesperson, officers seized gadgets as proof, together with lingerie, condoms and therapeutic massage oil, and allege that the venue was providing intercourse for paying clients.
Police additionally allege one employees member employed on the spa was 17, and they’re investigating whether or not to prosecute the house owners below Indonesia’s youngster safety legal guidelines.
A police spokesperson claimed the Pink Palace was turning over between $95,000 and $285,000 a yr.
“The modus operandi is to supply therapeutic massage companies with varied sensations within the Pink Palace, ranging from 1 million to 2.5 million rupiah [$95 to $236],” alleged Police Grand Commissioner Adjutant I Ketut Suarnaya, the deputy director of the Bali police’s Prison Investigation Directorate.
An Instagram account for the enterprise described the therapeutic massage venue as a “blissful sanctuary of rest,” however the account has now been taken down.
Lynley Le Grand was injured within the 2002 terrorist bombing assaults in Kuta and instructed the ABC on the bombing’s twentieth anniversary in 2022 that she had since made the island her residence and was elevating her youngsters in Bali.