A developing Indonesian scandal involving AFL premiership player Ricky Olarenshaw and a massage parlour in Bali has widened to include allegations of infidelity, dodgy police work and threats made by another Australian citizen to bring in “very powerful people”.
Donny Tri Istiqomah, the lawyer for Olarenshaw’s estranged Indonesian wife and business partner, Sarnanitha, claimed his client was the “victim of exploitation [from] foreign citizens” and that she had been unfairly targeted by police.
Essendon premiership player Ricky Olarenshaw and his wife, Sarnanitha, in 2023.Credit: Facebook
Nitha, as she is known, was arrested in allegedly dubious circumstances following a September 2 police raid on Flame Spa Bali that allegedly uncovered evidence their employees were engaged in prostitution, a crime in Indonesia. Donny claimed the raid was an orchestrated act of vengeance from Australian business partners.
Donny said that in August, Nitha discovered that Olarenshaw had cheated on her, triggering the couple’s separation. This caused the Australian business partners to get nervous about the money because Nitha was, on paper, the owner of the business. The lawyer claimed putting up an Indonesian citizen like this was a common way for foreigners to get around foreign investment laws.
This masthead has seen group text messages purported to be between Nitha and the four Australians as things turned sour. One of the partners, whom this masthead has chosen not to name because he had not had an opportunity to respond, claimed Nitha was withholding money, warning her that he had the “backing of some very powerful people” to get it back.
Donny said Nitha was against adding “sensual massage” to the business’s product list because she felt it could be breaching Indonesian law.
“If you don’t play ball with me and issue our dividends … I will shut down Flame as an illegal business and you’re liable as the shareholder, [sic] we will put you in jail for sex trafficking and fraud,” the man said.
Donny believed this person and another of the partners were still in Bali. He said Olarenshaw went to Australia after the separation and had not returned. This masthead does not suggest any wrongdoing on the footballer’s part or that he knew of any alleged illegal activity inside the Seminyak parlour. Attempts to contact him by phone and email were unsuccessful.
Donny claimed that on the day of the raid, two of the Australian partners accompanied police. One of them shouted to the staff to hand over the keys, he alleged, and another had “prepared” the front door for police.
