‘I’ve lost everything,’ says ex-Apprentice star as she reveals daredevil escape from Dubai to avoid ‘bogus’ charges
AN EX-Apprentice TV star dodged “bogus” charges in Dubai by illegally sneaking across the border hidden in a car, she has revealed.
Selina Waterman-Smith — who starred on Alan Sugar’s BBC show in 2015 — chanced a lifetime behind bars by fleeing the United Arab Emirates.
Her passport had been seized, but in a daredevil move after “losing everything”, she paid £17,000 to be smuggled into neighbouring Oman.
She 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.”
Selina was at her wits end after being found guilty of bouncing a cheque following a row with a former business partner.
She was ordered to pay a debt of £27,750 to him.
But she said the court never made contact so she failed to appear at an initial hearing — and was instantly declared guilty.
Selina said the ordeal led to a nervous breakdown and she lost her entire business.
She told 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.”
But the person who was to take her out let her down, so she had to pay another £7,000 to someone else.
She says she was told to duck down and hide in the back of a car to be driven over the border.
She said: “The border officials were too lazy to check the vehicle and I was taken into Oman.
“It was like something out of a movie.”
Selina flew to the UK, and later to Thailand, where she has been living hand-to-mouth since the end of last year.
She said: “I’m in bits.
“My life has been ruined.
“No one is interested in my plight in the UK. And I can never return to the UAE.
“I need to start again and try to put this all behind me.
“The ordeal has played havoc with my mental health.
“I have lost everything.”
Selina claims trouble began when she was approached by a man posing as an investor to her existing business, offering £200,000.
But he allegedly soon began demanding money, including a salary and dividends, despite not paying her a penny.
Criminal justice group Detained in Dubai said: “It is a harrowing and cautionary tale Western business people should keep in mind when visiting or moving to the UAE.”
The Apprentice launches a new series on BBC on Thursday.