Apprentice star Selina Waterman-Smith faces jail in Dubai over ‘bounced cheque’ as she reveals her ‘living hell’
APPRENTICE star Selina Waterman-Smith is facing jail in Dubai over a “bounced cheque” as she reveals her “living hell”.
Selina, who starred on the hit BBC show in 2015 could be locked up if she doesn’t pay £27,750 – despite claiming she never wrote a cheque in the first place.
She claims she has been the victim of harassment and extortion for nearly five years after a former business associate exploited a loophole in the UAE.
This loophole reportedly means that she could be convicted while she was abroad.
The 39-year-old says she was found guilty in her absence without any examination of the evidence as the complainant had supplied the wrong contact information for her.
Selina claims the man, from South Africa, has been harassing and extorting her since 2019.
And she says this has prompted her to file a complaint with the Dubai Police.
But since a court ruling against her, Selina has been stuck in the UAE with a travel ban for two years.
The former Apprentice star says she doesn’t have a bank account or medical insurance and her residency visa is soon to be cancelled.
Selina told MailOnline: “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.”
Selina claims the male complainant initially posed as a wealthy investor and reached out to her growing restaurant business in 2018.
But he started demanding a salary from the business despite not agreeing to stump up the capital, she claims.
Selina claims that when she refused his requests the man became “very aggressive” and subjected her to a campaign of threats, cyber-harassment and phone calls.
She said: “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.”
The former reality-TV star says that the whole ordeal has seen her affected by a number of physical and mental health problems.
This includes a nervous breakdown while she was also diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), anaemia, adrenal exhaustion, a kidney infection, and hair loss from acute stress.
And she says the man has also since launched his own rival food company with an almost identical concept to hers.
Selina said she eventually had little choice but to eventually close her business – writing off her own £75,000 investment.
But she claims the abuse continued and when she left the UAE in 2021 for a much-needed holiday, 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.
Despite her claim that there is no evidence, the court has refused to grant an appeal, stating that his testimony is sufficient.
Due to Sharia Law in the UAE, authorities are unwilling to overturn the original decision of the judge.
London-based organisation Detained in Dubai are supporting Selina and 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, Selina said she was sent a new threat demanding a further £65,000, which she ignored on advice from her lawyer.
She added: “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 businesswoman appeared in the popular BBC show – hosted by Lord Alan Sugar in 2015 – and she was fired in week nine.
Since the Apprentice Selina became a finance coach and mentor for CEO’s and entrepreneurs.