NELMA Kodama is now out of prison and is ready to tell her story.
The black market currency trader is opening up about her crimes in new Netflix documentary Nelma Kodama: The Queen of Dirty Money.
Who is Nelma Kodama?
Nelma Kodama was born in Brazil on October 18, 1966.
She has become known for being one of the biggest criminals in Brazilian history and is now ready to tell her story.
She was behind one of the most infamous corruption scandals which involved black market currency trading.
Despite serving a prison sentence, she is now active on social media and boasts more than 5000 followers on Instagram (as of June 2024).
She is often seen updating her followers on her life after being locked up.
What was Nelma Kodama convicted of?
Kodama has been charged with various financial crimes during the past several years.
She was first exposed as an underground currency trader in 2006 when the exchange house she worked for was implicated in an investigation into money laundering through bingo houses.
Kodama was involved in Brazil’s infamous Lava Jato case, which exposed systemic corruption at state oil company Petrobras.
Executives were found to have taken bribes in exchange for overvalued construction contracts.
In 2014 Kodama was arrested at Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport with €200,000 in her underwear.
She had been attempting to flee to Italy after learning she was under investigation in the Lava Jato case.
Kodama was then sentenced to 18 years in prison for corruption, illegal foreign exchange and criminal organisation.
Her sentence was terminated early due to a cooperation agreement and a pardon from then-President Michel Temer in 2017.
However she came under investigation again in 2018, after appearing on social media wearing jewellery allegedly stolen from a mansion in Sao Paulo.
She also came under fire in 2019 when she posted a video on how to undo an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet.
How to watch Nelma Kodama: The Queen of Dirty Money
You can tune into Netflix to watch Nelma Kodama: The Queen of Dirty Money.
The documentary tells the story of Kodama’s crimes and her time in prison.
Out of prison, notorious black-market currency trader Nelma Kodama exposes her part in a major Brazilian corruption scandal.
Netflix
She narrates her own story and can be seen on the programme still wearing an electronic ankle bracelet which is tracked by the police.
The synopsis of the documentary reads: “Out of prison, notorious black-market currency trader Nelma Kodama exposes her part in a major Brazilian corruption scandal.”
Kodama sits in front of the camera dressed in her best clothes and holding her dog as she talks about her love of jewellery.
The documentary flicks from showing a well-dress Kodama to clips of her while she was in prison wearing her orange boiler suit.
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