The Apprentice star Selina Waterman-Smith made a terrifying daredevil choice to illegally sneak across the United Arab Emirates border and into Oman as she dodged ‘bogus’ legal charges.
Businesswoman Selina, 39, who starred on the hit BBC show in 2015, was in a ‘living hell’ over a ‘bounced cheque’ and was warned she faced being locked up if she didn’t pay £27,750 – despite claiming she never wrote any cheque.
Her passport had been taken and she faced life in prison by fleeing the UAE after living in Dubai, so she paid £17,000 to be smuggled over the border and set free so she could return to the UK.
Selina told The Sun: ‘I had lost everything due to corruption in the UAE. I felt I had nothing to lose. If I had been caught they would have locked me up. I can never go back.’
She claims she has been the victim of harassment and extortion for nearly five years after a former business associate exploited a loophole UAE law that meant she could be convicted while she was abroad.
The Apprentice star Selina Waterman-Smith made a terrifying choice to illegally sneak across the United Arab Emirates border and into Oman as she dodged ‘bogus’ legal charges (pictured in 2015)
The reality star said she was found guilty in her absence without any examination of the evidence as the complainant had supplied the wrong contact information for her.
She claims the man, from South Africa, has been harassing and extorting her since 2019, prompting her to file a complaint with the Dubai Police.
She said the whole ordeal caused her a nervous breakdown and she was also diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), anaemia, adrenal exhaustion, a kidney infection, and hair loss from acute stress.
As a result of the court ruling against her, Selina had been stuck in the UAE with a travel ban for two years, without a bank account or medical insurance, a blocked trade license, and her then soon-to-be-cancelled residency visa.
She added to The Sun: ‘I appealed the ludicrous outcome but was told because I was a woman I couldn’t run a business anyway. I was also advised a man doesn’t need any evidence to prosecute a case against a woman in Dubai.
‘There was not a shred of evidence against me. I had nothing to lose, so I paid £10,000 to be smuggled out of the country. I was in limbo with my passport blocked.’
The person who was meant to help her out of the country let her down so she paid £7,000 to someone else.
She claims she was told to duck down in the back of the car as it was driven over the UAE-Oman border, adding that custom officials did not check the vehicle properly as it moved through.
Selina, 39, who starred on the hit BBC show in 2015 (pictured), was in a ‘living hell’ over a ‘bounced cheque’ and was warned she faced being locked up if she didn’t pay £27,750
Selina returned to the UK and then went to Thailand where she has been located since the end of last year.
The television personality, who made it as far as week nine on The Apprentice, claims the male complainant initially posed as a wealthy investor and reached out to her growing restaurant business in 2018.
But after their business arrangement broke down, she said he started demanding a salary from the business, an allowance to rent office space, and regular dividends – despite not investing the agreed capital.
She claimed when she refused his request he became ‘very aggressive’ and would threaten her over the phone – leaving her in a constant state of fear and stress.
Selina said she discovered his back story had been ‘fabricated’ and he wasn’t legally permitted to invest in the UAE.
And she claims she has since been subjected to a campaign of threats, cyber-harassment and phone calls from people claiming to be connected to him.
Some Instagram messages have come in the form of threats about ‘getting revenge’.
Selina said the man has also since launched his own rival food company with an almost identical concept to hers.
She claims she never wrote a cheque, her passport had been taken and she faced life in prison by fleeing the UAE after living in Dubai, so she paid £17,000 to be smuggled over the border (Dubai Marina pictured)
She previously said: ‘There have been times in the last two years where I have suffered extreme depression, as I can’t see any other way of escaping his abuse.
‘He [the unnamed businessman] seems to relish having power over me and destroying a strong woman.
‘A man so brazen about threats, harassment, and committing fraud, is a real danger to me, and potentially other female victims.’
She added: ‘He continued to cyberstalk me daily, via threats and invasive action, and find ways to intimidate me wherever I was.
‘The love-bombing in the beginning with grand claims about his potential contribution to my business, and then his switch into an aggressive monster leads me to believe that this is narcissistic abuse.’
She claims she has also repeatedly spoken to police and lawyers about the ongoing abuse, which has now been going on for nearly five years.
She added: ‘Whenever I’ve spoken to authorities they’ve advised me that I had done nothing wrong legally and to “ignore him”, and that he would eventually get bored.’ Sadly, this has not been the reality.
Selina said she eventually had little choice but to eventually close her business – writing off her own £75,000 investment.
She claims she’s victim of harassment and extortion after a former business associate exploited a loophole UAE law that meant she could be convicted while she was abroad (L-R: Selina, Ruth Whiteley and Scott Saunders pictured on The Apprentice in 2015)
But she claims the abuse continued and he was kept tabs on her movements via her social media and when she left the UAE in 2021 for a much-needed vacation, he filed a civil case just a few days later – over a bounced cheque.
This carried a draconian punishment in the UAE including seizure of assets, a travel ban, and jail time.
She says no cheque was mentioned in his testimony, but instead he allegedly claimed that she borrowed money from him and refused to return it – a claim she denies.
Selina, who has previously spoken about being kidnapped and attacked by three men, said: ‘I will probably always have PTSD after being kidnapped and assaulted in 2013, especially when it comes to trusting men, and what I find most upsetting here is that I think this is why he targeted me, assuming that because I’m vulnerable I would be easier to manipulate.
‘When I refused a lot of his demands for money, he resorted to more immoral tactics.’
Despite her claim that there is no evidence, the court has refused to grant an appeal, claiming that his testimony is sufficient, and due to Sharia Law are unwilling to overturn the original decision of the judge.
London-based organisation Detained in Dubai, which is supporting her, confirmed there was no financial proof of any cheque in the full case file, which was never examined in court.
After winning the case in absentia in 2021, and being awarded funds seized from her personal savings account, Selina said she was sent a new threat demanding a further £65,000, which she ignored on advice from her lawyer.
She added: ‘He’s even claimed in his testimony my business ideas were his – despite us operating for two years before he approached me.
‘Now he’s filed a bounced cheque case but the case mentions a personal loan without any bank statements or proof, so clearly even he is confused as to the reason he’s demanding money this time round.’
The reality star said she was found guilty in her absence without any examination of the evidence as the complainant had supplied the wrong contact information for her (The Apprentice boss Lord Alan Sugar pictured this year)
Radha Stirling, of Detained in Dubai, said: ‘Securing a conviction against a rival in the UAE is often simply as easy as making an accusation, as we see in Selina’s case.
‘No substantial evidence is required, no proof, and the accused is frequently never even made aware of the case until they discover they have been convicted.
‘It is disturbing that Selina decided to give the country a second chance after the nightmare of her violent assault 10 years prior, only to once again find herself victimised by both a ruthless predator and the legal system that unquestioningly took his side.
‘It is a harrowing and cautionary tale – one of countless others – that Western tourists and business people should keep uppermost in their minds when considering visiting or moving to the UAE.’
The 18th series of The Apprentice is set to begin on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Thrsday 1 February (L-R: The Apprentice’s Baroness Karren Brady, Lord Alan Sugar and Tim Campbell)
