All language subtitles for Nelma Kodama The Queen Of Dirty Money (2024)_track4_[eng]

Nelma Kodama was an enabler.

You would call her…

and the problem would be solved.

My greatest achievement,

even more so than going beyond
where any woman

had gone in this field before

was that I had done so with artistry.

NELMA KODAMA: THE QUEEN OF DIRTY MONEY

Was I breaking the law?

What is "breaking the law"?

To be a dollar dealer,
is to become the law.

Following your own set of rules.

Not doing things

by the Central Bank's rules.

It's a code of honor, of character
and of your word.

Whenever I would sit at my desk
and begin answering phone calls,

it was as if I were
conducting an orchestra.

What a beautiful thing.

You are buying and selling money.

You don't know who's on
the other side of the line,

but nonetheless, that person trusts
that you will get the job done.

It's called "white-collar crime"
for a reason.

You can always make yourself
look cleaner than you really are.

Dollar dealer Nelma Kodama
was the first person

arrested in Operation Car Wash.

She was arrested
while boarding a flight to Italy

with 200,000 euros in her underwear.

How was Beethoven able to play?

Or Mozart?

How were they able to do it?

She was convicted
of corruption, organized crime,

and currency evasion.

Do you remember her
singing "Amada Amante"?

It was quite an iconic moment,
with her singing

and a few congressmen singing along.

It seems more like a banana republic.

Her understanding
of crime differs,

but financial crimes are all the same.

She also published
on her social media,

and Instagram the moment she removed
her electronic ankle monitor.

In his report, the judge
said she provided a disservice

to Brazilian society.

It's unacceptable.
You can't trust anything she says.

There is a crime behind
every fortune.

There's money laundering,
there's money dealers,

and there's Nelma.

There is an entire ecosystem
that goes beyond politics,

making sure
that the dirty money circulates.

Due to corruption…

JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR

…the need to pay bribes,
and the distribution

of illicit advantages,

there's an entire ecosystem
of money dealers

and financial operators

who work to make this money circulate

unlawfully under the radar
in this underworld.

There's a term known as "the Operator."

In Pulp Fiction,
there was a character named "The Cleaner"…

JOURNALIST

…who solved all kinds of issues.

She was a "cleaner" of sorts
to certain congressmen

and to some dollar dealers.

The enabler seems like
a secondary character,

but they're central to the plot.

They are the ones who connect the dots
and close the circuits

for all these criminal transactions.

Life is a game

and I go all in.

If I win, I take it all.

If I lose, I lose it all.

Halfway isn't fun.

When I made
my first million dollars,

I wasn't even thirty years old.

I'd say, "Guys, I'm a millionaire!"

Right after that,
I lost three million dollars.

I woke up saying, "I'm killing myself."

Losing what you've earned
is not a problem,

but losing what's not yours is.

Think about it.

"Dollar dealer
loses three million dollars,

and throws herself into a dumpster."

That wouldn't suit me. Not at all.

So, I said, "No. I'm better than that."

"If I lost three,
it means I can make three."

I took a shower…

put on my best Chanel…

and said,

"I'm back in the game
and I can make three, four, five…"

Welcome.

Welcome to my house.

I built every detail in this house.

Every single piece in here

has my personality, my taste,

my soul, my life, and work in it.

Speaking of work, this is my office desk.

I bought this desk at an antique dealer

and I brought it back to Brazil.

Like everything here,
I bought it in Italy.

I made sure to open the space

because I like this amplitude, and this--

This kind of freedom.

"Hey, dollar killer!
Dollar killer!"

I say, "It's not dollar killer,
it's dollar dealer."

- What's up, dollar dealer.
- Hey, what's up?

Dollar dealer. Dollar dealer.

That nickname follows me everywhere.

A few days before coming here,

you could hear my name
on the radio every day.

"Brazil's biggest dollar dealer is coming
to the Mata Escura penitentiary."

This one journalist
would say this,

"Listen, if you give
this dollar dealer a phone,

she will take over the yard,
she will take over the whole prison.

I love shoes.

The leather,

the subtlety, the design of the heels.

I'm sure that if I wore
a different pair of shoes each day,

I could wear them for over a year.

I had seven cars.

One for every day of the week.

Seven.

Jewelry.

Now you've found my weak spot.

Jewelry, jewelry, jewelry.

The word says it all. Jewels!

A woman without jewelry
is practically naked.

I never made plans.

But I always had a plan.
Does that make sense?

LINS FACULTY OF DENTISTRY

I'm a dentist.

I wanted to be financially independent…

set up my own clinic…

own a two-bedroom apartment.

Have an imported car

and make the equivalent
of five thousand dollars.

That's what I wanted,
so this was a plan.

My family owned a meatpacking plant

and a butcher shop in Diadema.

And then, I suddenly began working
in the financial department.

At that time, we worked with "hot money,"

which was money borrowed
from one day to the next.

I would take out these loans
to buy dollars.

Then, one day, my bank manager said,

"Nelma, I'm going to introduce you to

a currency exchange in Santo André."

She told me to go there
and ask to speak to César.

He was, in fact, Júlio César Emílio,

the brother of Norma Regina Emílio,

who was a Federal Revenue officer.

FORMER FEDERAL REVENUE OFFICER

She was married to
João Carlos da Rocha Mattos,

a Federal Judge.

FORMER FEDERAL JUDGE

I ended up becoming their VIP client.

One day, while I was there
I thought, "You know what?"

"I'll go out to dinner
with this guy, at least."

"He must be interesting,
he's a dollar dealer."

And that was when
my relationship with him started

and I began diving into
my craft as a dollar dealer.

From girlfriend to dollar dealer.

I learned very quickly.

I had never worked with this kind
of merchandise before,

of buying and selling dollars.

I was there solely to answer the phone.

I wasn't supposed to negotiate.
I didn't even know how to.

The dollar was continually rising,

and Julio would yell,
"The dollar is now one real."

"The dollar is now at one twenty
and is selling for one sixty."

I started understanding,
I said, "This is nice."

Rocha Mattos was arrested
in 2003 by the Federal Police,

accused of participating in a scheme

that included
the selling of court rulings.

NOVEMBER 2003

He got into some trouble

during a very well-known operation
called "Operation Anaconda."

The investigation
identified 59 people

involved in a scheme of extortion,
forgery of documents,

sale of court rulings,
and influence peddling.

He did have a scheme that
facilitated the sale of judicial services…

PROSECUTOR FOR SÃO PAULO STATE

…so this money had to be hidden somehow.

This was the first time we heard
that there was a woman

involved in this money laundering
scheme through a small travel agency

that operated
as a currency exchange office.

That was the first time
I heard of Nelma Kodama.

What happened was that
Julio had done business

with the brother of a dollar dealer,
which didn't turn out that well.

It was a scam. It caused quite a stir.

And because of it,
there was a dollar dealer meeting,

and Júlio didn't attend.

They weren't just any dollar dealers,
they were the dollar dealers.

They were royalty.

It was a very private club.

They dictated the rules of who stayed
in the market, who left the market

because in such a masculine environment,

you need to come on strong,
asserting yourself.

There was a large table
with the dollar dealers

where they were all seated.

When I got there, everyone stopped.

They all stared at me…

I'm here,
and I'm representing Júlio César.

I am open to negotiating
all that is needed

with anyone who is willing
to deal with me.

Those who didn't know me got to know me.

And saw what my role would be
from then on.

She was at a moment
where she wanted to grow.

She was showing the old-school dealers

and whoever else thought she was a newbie
that she would become big.

FORMER ASSISTANT

The old-school dealers
didn't talk to Nelma.

They never would.

They were a very closed-off
and restricted group.

Luccas worked with me for 12 years.

I invite Mr. Pace Júnior
to take a seat at the table.

I've worked in various banks,
always in the international departments.

AUGUST 2015

STATEMENT TO THE PETROBRAS
PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY COMMITTEE

I've worked on opening and closing banks,

and I've worked in
extrajudicial liquidation.

I have a wide breadth of knowledge
on this topic.

I came from the financial market,
worked at banks,

owned a stockbroker company,

and went through some severe trouble
between 2000 and 2001.

It was a problem with my associates,
I lost my business, I lost my companies.

I started working much more
in the informal market,

which was all I had left.

I had a friend in this area
and he told me, "I'm working for Nelma."

"Ah, I've heard of her."

She asked to talk to me
and I started going to Santo André.

I was going one day,
two, and three, and when I realized it,

I was going every day.

Júlio became very fearful
at one point

because of Rocha Mattos' situation.

According to
the Attorney General's office,

Rocha Mattos would be
one of the leading figures

of the gang selling court rulings.

Júlio was afraid.

That something would end up
happening to him.

That he might get arrested. Anyway.

He was completely shaken and depressed.

He did not want to leave his apartment
and I took on the load.

I was an employee
and I was handling all the mess.

The whole transition
from employee to owner

happened when we opened
Hawaii Currency Exchange and Tourism.

It was no longer Santur

because another partner was involved,

who demanded we end the partnership,

and so it changed its name.

I ended up becoming the owner

because Júlio did not want to come back,

and I had to conduct
the whole thing on my own.

Nelma operated
in the old-school market,

which was much more straightforward.

I had very few clients,
but I started closing

exchange deals for her at the banks.

She began having a lot more
structure on the technical side of things

and became more capable
of dealing with shipments.

That's when things began to grow,
and she first moved to São Paulo.

I started…

as if it were, like, from scratch.

When dollar dealers were at their peak,

I was a nobody.

In the '70s, '80s, and '90s,

it was considered morally acceptable

to have a dollar dealer working for you.

Everybody knew it was illegal,
but Brazil--

Brazil is not a German,
Teutonic, or Anglo-Saxon country.

Many things are known to be sketchy here,
and people do them anyway.

Inflation was rising at levels

that were about
two to three percent daily.

And the only solution
that Brazilians had available

was to buy some type
of strong foreign currency

that would not lose value continuously
like our own money.

Whatever our money
might've been at the time

because it's very hard to remember
all the currencies.

The currency changed names
several times over the years.

That's why
at the currency exchange offices,

there were lines that would go on forever

because everyone wanted
to take the little money they had,

which was now even less,
and try to buy dollars

because the dollar would increase
its value almost every five minutes.

JULY 1994
LAUNCH OF THE REAL

From a depreciated
currency to a strong one,

the real will replace the
cruzeiro real in our daily lives.

With the Plano Real in 1994,
with the stabilization of the currency

and the normalization
of the Brazilian economy,

using dollars as a way
to protect one's assets

started becoming less important.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
OF TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL

Then the black-market money dealing

began to be considered
more a traditional crime,

like general corruption
of large-scale crime.

CITY CENTER SÃO PAULO

Business with China
began increasing significantly,

but not the kind we know nowadays,
but the unofficial kind.

That was right when
I began operating fully

on Rua 25 de Março at the Pagé Plaza.

Rua 25 de Março
is the central shopping hub in São Paulo.

Police officers and fiscal authorities
have closed off the Pagé Plaza,

which is considered
a symbol of contraband in Brazil.

Then people would communicate with me

and they'd close a deal.

They'd come withdraw 100, 200,000,

then you might say "What?"
Yes, 100, $200,000.

I created an operation
that worked like this:

I would sell those dollars to them

so they would come and get those dollars,

and then they would get on a bus

and head out to Paraguay.

There, they'd purchase the goods,

paying with those dollars,
leaving those bills in the stores

and then return to São Paulo,
bringing the goods.

These buses were getting robbed
quite a few times.

So I thought to myself,

"Let's look at these stores,
all the main stores in Paraguay."

They all buy their goods
either from China or the United States

and pay by wire transfers.

So they don't need the dollars in cash.

Wire transfers involve no cables or wires.

Suppose there's a money dealer here
who has a contact,

a person in the United States,

and they send them a wire.

It's called a "wire"
because of a reference to telegrams.

Let's say someone needs
$200,000 in New York.

The person would then go to New York

and the carrier would give
the 200,000 to that person.

That Brazilian.
How did the person over there get paid?

There were so many transactions happening,
that someone else

would need the equivalent
of these 200,000 in Brazil,

in the local currency,
whatever that currency might be.

So, the dealer in Brazil would give
this other person that money,

and they would be even.

The money didn't leave here, or go there.

The illegal transaction was made
through this so-called wire transfer.

I had a lot of credit,

so I would say this to the store,

"You will make sure to have available,

$10,000 for Ale, ID number XYZ."

"He'll come by to pick it up."

I would charge the store
a percentage of the transaction,

and I would also charge Ale a percentage.

I'd earn profits from both.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

I mean, there is because it was illegal.

I remember having crossed
the Friendship Bridge

many times in Paraguay

as a money smuggler.

I'd organize a dozen boys in single file.

I'd tell them,
"Each of you crosses the bridge

with$10,000." How crazy was that?

I'd watch them and say,
"Hey, if you steal from me,

I'll kill you
and push you off the bridge."

I would make them all walk
in a single file,

and I walked right behind them.

Because if I lose,
I lose ten rather than a hundred.

So I had a group of boys
on the ready on the weekends,

when I'd collect the money in Paraguay.

Then I started getting robbed.

It was not easy
going to places like…

the Pagé Plaza and Rua 25 de Março
to collect all this money

because they were super crowded and busy.

There were tons of bags of money.

She had a team who collected money
from these stalls.

That's how she operated.

With all that,

we had to create bunkers
so we could store all the money.

So I could run my operation

and send these dollars abroad.

And unlike what

the authorities thought at the time,

that I had a small business operation,

there were millions
and even more millions involved.

It was ridiculous.

Each client had an account
within Nelma's accounting system.

Like a virtual bank nowadays.

For example, if the client had a balance,

they could ask her
to convert their balance

and pay someone in China
or pay them in cash.

I needed to have so many cell phones.

My employees would say to me,

"I don't understand, boss,
why so many cell phones?"

I would say,
"Cell phones are cheaper than a lawyer,

and better than prison."

That's when I began growing a lot,

and then I realized,
"I think I need an alias."

I chose "Duda". Why?

Because it could be short
for Eduarda or Eduardo.

Many people called her "auntie,"
but she didn't like that.

She preferred using names
of film actresses instead.

Cameron Diaz, Brigitte Bardot,
Angelina Jolie,

Julia Roberts.

I worked outside the law,

so I had to protect myself
and protect you.

Because I looked after your money
and my money.

The legal banking system
also works on trust.

It is a depository, a fiduciary
of deposits that don't really exist.

Like the legal system,

the illicit system
is also primarily based on trust.

Still, we cannot romanticize it

and think there's no cheating
within crime.

Just like the mafia disputes.

It's very much based on trust,

but there is cheating
within the crime world, for sure.

I was a bank.

They would call me and say,

"Duda, come over,
come pick up money of mine."

"My money. Come pick up $100,000.
$100,000 for store."

Two hours later, we were there

getting money from the till.

Their credit was at a particular store

so that their person could go there

and retrieve "the merchandise."

We used to have

a very powerful
dollar dealer in the region.

A Chinese woman, Mrs. Yan.

She was the primary money dealer
for the Chinese.

So we were… competitors.

Mrs. Yan did not like us.

But it so happened that Mrs. Yan
ended up having a personal falling out

with a Chinese man.

And then this Chinese man
sent the Federal Police

to search her office.

Mrs. Yan called Santur,

and I answered the phone.

I was scared by the whole situation,
so I got in my car…

…and I rushed over
to the back of her exchange office

in order to rescue her.

So then, I put her in the car,
and we escaped.

I have no idea if she's still alive today.

All I know is that we ended up
becoming great friends and allies.

What's her name? Yan?

- I don't know.
- I don't know her at all.

I've never heard that story.

Listen, I really have no idea
of who she might actually be.

I think she existed

because I've heard stories
about this Mrs. Yan.

I don't know if she's alive,
what she does,

where she came from, or where she went.

Mrs. Yan was one of the women
who inspired me.

Nelma is exaggerating it.
She likes to be epic.

When I heard Nelma's story,
it was all very confusing to me.

She'd talk about Beto,
then talk about another guy.

I didn't understand it
and also didn't want to understand it.

I just wanted to work.

I knew little about her past,
but saw so much confusion

that I realized she was already
mixing business with relationships.

I've never been a flirt.

So, when I ended up falling in love,

I fell in love completely.

What was the type of man Nelma liked?

FRIEND

It doesn't exist.

As long as the person was interesting,

that was all that mattered.

Alberto Youssef
was one of her great loves.

It was truly a-- An astounding passion.

Alberto Youssef
is a notorious money launderer.

When it comes to money laundering,

he is always somehow involved.

Because he's an expert.

How I met Beto.

It was in February of 2000.

I had done an exchange deal with someone,

and they began stalling,
so I pressured them.

That's when they said,
"I ended up buying from Beto."

And I said, "Who is Beto?"

I found out that Beto lived in Londrina

and worked transporting valuables.

So I started doing business with him,

and he kept calling me.

One day, he said,
"I'm coming over, I'm going to meet you."

I said, "You know what?
I'll just meet the guy."

So he turns up. He's shorter than me.

He had beautiful eyes.

But very poorly dressed.

Wearing a worn-out T-shirt.

FORMER DOLLAR DEALER AND BUSINESS MAN

The sides of his shoes were very dingy,

and he had an old 007-style briefcase.

Really old!

If this guy's married,
he's in a bad marriage.

His wife doesn't care for him.

But, as soon I saw him,
I thought, "Oh, Shit."

I'm screwed.

"Oh well, that's it."

To operate the scheme that may
have laundered almost ten billion reais,

the dollar dealer Alberto Youssef,
held in custody in Curitiba,

set up a wide range of contacts
inside and outside the state.

Good question. What did I see in him?

I saw everything and nothing.
Or the other way around.

So, Alberto Youssef is a symbol

of how this black-market
money-dealing world works, right?

He did everything he could to survive

and had a way with numbers, with money…

He was born and raised
in the Triple Frontier,

near Foz do Iguassu, Londrina,

where financial crime is a reality.

There's smuggling and a series of people

carrying out illegal activities
near the border.

I believe that he became familiar

with this logic of the financial system

from the very beginning,
since he was a small child.

2003
BANESTADO CASE INVESTIGATIONS

For almost four years,
the Banco do Estado do Paraná,

a state-owned company,
housed what may have been

the greatest money-laundering operation
in the country's history.

Alberto Youssef, was already carrying out

money laundering schemes
through CC5 accounts,

known as the Banestado Case, in Paraná.

The dealers procured straw men
at the Triple Frontier,

most of them Paraguayan nationals,
and they'd opened CC5 accounts

on behalf of these foreigners
at Banestado in Foz do Iguaçu.

Those were foreign accounts
that allowed people

to send money through them.

That was when Brazil began to open up

and carry out some types
of legal transactions in foreign currency.

2003 FEDERAL SENATE

This scandal created
a Parliamentary Inquiry Committee

in Congress, but it was buried.

During this period, Alberto Youssef
had many friends in Brasília,

and he began developing
an extensive network of influence.

In the '90s, José Janene,
a politician from Paraná,

began gaining prominence
as a federal representative.

He's already passed.

And, he would do business deals

that were later
clearly considered to be illegal.

Alberto Youssef was the following:

He was Janene's operator.
He was Janene's envoy.

FORMER FEDERAL DEPUTY

The federal court of Paraná
sentenced former congressman Pedro Corrêa

to 20 years and seven months in prison

for the crimes of corruption
and money laundering.

A decision made by Judge Sergio Moro.

APRIL 2015

According to reports,
the former parliamentarian

received bribes destined
for the Progressive Party

through the Petrobras corruption scheme.

Before Petrobras,
when there were other institutions,

Janene agreed with businessmen

to contribute to the party
through Youssef.

He carried out this operation.

He received dollars, sent them abroad,
exchanged them for cash,

and delivered the money to Brasília.

And we distributed it
among the members of Congress.

Alberto Youssef was involved once again,

and he was acquainted
with a dollar dealer.

And she was the person that he turned to
when he needed cash,

especially in dollars.

When he struggled to deliver the money,
he'd say, "I'll have to make a sacrifice

and go to the Japanese lady."

"I'll go there, I'll have a quickie,
and come back with the money."

This is what he used to say.

I didn't know who this Japanese lady was
or what she looked like.

He said she was a monster

when it came to telling someone off
and solving money problems.

She was Satan in a skirt.

This is the real game
I actually like playing.

I had no other kind of operation.

What I have is
a "small Chinese operation."

Because actual cash leaves no trail.

We lived together for nine years.

They were good times.

I was very much in love with him.

During that time,
he was arrested about three times.

In his final agreement,

it was determined
that he could no longer operate.

He wasn't allowed to exchange money,

and we agreed that I would be
the one to operate the deals.

To say that she dealt on his behalf,
while he couldn't.

I can't comment on that.

Because I was just getting to know her
and how everything worked.

I really had no access to…

But have you met
Mr. Alberto Youssef?

I have.

- And Dario Messer?
- No.

- And Mr. Raul Srour?
- Raul, yes.

He was "The Little Jew."

FORMER DOLLAR DEALER AND BUSINESSMAN

He had exquisite taste
and smelled so good.

Very classy, very elegant,

but extremely penniless.

He was a partner of other dollar dealers

and one of the remaining
old-school dollar dealers.

I have no idea how she met Raul,
but she did.

Apparently, they began doing business,

which soon turned into a relationship.

Regarding Alberto, she did mention
having big arguments with him,

but they were lovers' quarrels.

She was Youssef's lover.

They fought because he wouldn't divorce
to be with her.

Now and then, he'd come over,

and once, she threw his clothes
out of the window from the top floor.

About the fights we had.

Well, we actually only fought once.

Once.

He was becoming absent very frequently.

For example, he'd have to go to Brasília,
and he'd stay there.

He'd then travel, and I'd ask,
"Where are you going? What's going on?"

I thought he had another woman,
but he didn't.

Nowadays, I know that he got home late

because he was meeting with contractors.

So, he was making money

behind my back while sleeping with me.

I told him,
"One day, you will get home,

and there'll be a man in our bed."

"There will be a man in our bed."

And that's what happened.

It was Valentine's Day.

I had bought two tickets in first class.

São Paulo to Paris.

The Ritz Hotel.

Presidential suite.

And I was like…

When he found out I was going to Paris,

he was completely caught off guard.

"Now I'm the one who won't be
spending Valentine's Day with you."

"I will not."

I invited my little Jewish friend
to go with me.

It was a spectacular trip.

Specifically, after she met Raul,

she started to get to know
the world better.

That was when I went to Chanel,

and they closed the store so I could shop.

He really started teaching me how to…

"Look, with the money you have,
you get to buy this and that."

All in very good taste.

Because until that moment,
I only made a bunch of money.

This is the view
from our absolutely amazing room.

Is it good enough for you?

And Beto would call and call again.

He'd call the hotel and all of that fuss.

Is it okay for you? You like it?

We even have…

a little birdie!

When we got back to São Paulo,

I then told Beto to come over.

I imagined every possibility
except him saying…

"We end here."

MARCH 2014

Dollar dealers, businessmen,
and politicians

from one of the world's
largest companies, Petrobras.

A mix that led
to the complex scheme

of bribery and money laundering,

uncovered by Operation Car Wash.

Nelma knew about all the schemes
Youssef conducted with businessmen

because she was involved in transactions
having to do with dollars.

The dollar dealer
was arrested in 2014

while trying to board a flight to Milan
with 200,000 euros

hidden in her underwear.

I was not running away.

I was going to a furniture fair.

"Ma'am, you're under arrest." Huh?

"We received an anonymous tip
that you are carrying drugs."

I said, "Drugs? I'm not."

I had 200,000 euros on me,

if there was anything illegal,
it was that.

I didn't declare it at the revenue office
because it was closed,

and that's not my fault.

I had a secret code

with someone.

That if I called them
and said, "I'm going to Disney,"

it was time to get rid of it all.

Burn everything.

So I called this person and said,
"Look, I'm going to Disney." I mean…

Operation Car Wash
is considered

the country's greatest investigation
into corruption and money laundering.

The discovery that a currency
exchange office in this gas station,

in the heart of Brasília,

was laundering dirty money in plain sight

led to the name Car Wash.

The same policeman who arrested me
then called me.

I thought, "Wow, it must be
my release permit."

Keep dreaming!

Because it actually was
a warrant for my arrest

by the then judge Sergio Moro,

through which
the Operation Car Wash had begun.

Judge Sergio Moro
sentenced 140 people,

including former president Lula
and important businessmen.

People who committed corruption crimes…

SENATOR AND FORMER FEDERAL JUDGE

…even the powerful ones, are answering
before the courts of justice.

Nobody knew what was happening.

I went into a room

where there were at least 17 men.

All of them with their heads down,
pretending no one knew each other.

I said, "My God, what is going on?"

Luccas was there.

And then they transferred us.

We were taken into another room,
and that's when I saw Raul.

He was very scared,
and was wearing a straitjacket.

Really.

I believe he must have
resisted the arrest.

Criminal organizations
led by money dealers

were the first targets.

Among these money dealers,
there was Alberto Youssef.

When Youssef was arrested,
in order to confirm his stories,

they arrested Nelma.

She had also been connected to him
since the time of Banestado,

so they knew she was very close to him.

QUESTIONING

"We want to know
everything about Alberto Youssef."

"If you tell us about him,

you'll be out of here in a week, maximum."

"If not, you can rest assured
you'll rot in jail."

"I'll rot then."

A politician
is like a card player.

Money will never run out.

He might be broke in every way,

but he'll always find
some money to keep playing.

Politicians are the same.

I've always said that
the businessmen helped me.

You need money to hold an election.
They're expensive.

Other people's money has to come in

because just the party fund
won't elect anyone.

Whoever holds five, six, or seven terms

has to spend money
because this is all they do,

or they won't get votes.

A politician won't approach
a businessman directly

and say, "I want X million reais
in exchange for some favor."

They use financial operators.

They're professional politicians.

There used to be wire operations.

Nowadays, people talk about Bitcoin.

There are ways to make the money
that you receive here to be usable abroad.

So behind a political scheme,

there's always a financial scheme
like that of the money dealers.

So, Youssef connects with Dario Messer,

and he becomes a money dealer,
an underling to Messer,

who is the "dealer of dealers"
in Brazilian history.

FORMER DOLLAR DEALER

Messer had so much money,
so many schemes, and accounts

that he could subcontract people.

Alberto Youssef moves up the ranks
in his role as a financial operator.

Little by little, he becomes independent.

He becomes a businessman
with his own businesses.

I did get back in touch with him.

In 2013, he came up to me and said,

"We're going to have an operation,
and it will last a year."

"And then, it's over. No more deals."

"We'll make enough money
that we won't need it anymore."

The goal was to elect I don't know
how many members of Congress.

Yeah, sure.

The task force investigates
embezzlement of funds at Petrobras…

They charged bribes
from construction companies

working on Petrobras projects.

I was never part
of Operation Car Wash

because I never dealt with Petrobras.

I was a dollar dealer,

but I had never done absolutely anything

directly with the Petrobras company.

I didn't even know what I was doing there.

And to add to it,
she manages to cross paths in jail

with two former lovers.

Alberto Youssef and Raul Srour.

They put me in a cell by myself.

There were three cells,
one next to the other,

with a pee-smelling mattress.

In the other two cells,
I think there were about 20 men.

And on the third or fourth day,
Mr. Paulo Roberto Costa arrived,

a man from Petrobras,
and Beto was already there.

FORMER DIRECTOR AT PETROBRAS

That's the hardest moment,
when you say,

"What am I doing here?
How is it going to be like from now on?"

You could see that bunch
of grown men crying,

"I want to get out of here!"

Those who weren't religious
were becoming evangelical,

Christian, spiritual, because everything

that was happening was so new,
and it was terrifying.

It was difficult for everyone.

And it was very difficult,
I remember, for Raul.

His son had been arrested along with him.

We had no idea how big
Operation Car Wash was.

It was the first day,
and there was no news about it.

The news was-- It was us.

Almost everyone there believed it would
all be resolved in a matter of days.

Youssef also thought
it would be resolved quickly,

and Raul, as well,

like any other operation had been
before Operation Car Wash.

Well, Nelma would keep changing mood
so very quickly,

and sometimes,
the same topic that made her laugh

would hurt her soon after.

I was the first woman
to be arrested in Operation Car Wash.

It's hard to face the fact
that you're under arrest,

but that's something
you've got to do, why?

Because if not,
you keep refusing things like a fan

because you think you're leaving soon.
No, you're not.

So, what do you have to do?

You have to make your cell liveable.

She used to clean the cell
about five times a day.

A bit crazy, but I got along well with her

because I had all the attention
in the world.

She made my food,
she would look after me,

and then she started to take care of me.

Mr. Pedro. He is--

He's such a character.

Alberto Youssef wouldn't speak to her,
but she spoke to him.

He wouldn't say good morning,
he just wouldn't speak.

And then Beto would say,
"I don't want her in here!"

And Pedro would say,
"She can come into my part!"

Alberto Youssef had never
read a book in his life.

So I gave him his first book
to get rid of him

and get some sleep.

We used to play cards, dominoes, chess.

But after a while,
the games got serious.

Poker, rummy or anything else.

So then, new ideas would come up,

like, "Let's play Scattergories."

Alberto didn't know what it was,
but we played it seriously

because it was worth the Sunday bun.

The buns on Sunday were from a bakery,
different from the ones

on Mondays to Saturdays.

The game was quite heated
to compete for the bread.

I got to win two buns on the same weekend.

I always thought Luccas
was very intelligent, however--

There's always a "however."

We were caught in
Operation Car Wash together.

We were arrested at the same time,
and I was disappointed in him

because when I was arrested,
they said to him,

"You will tell us all about Nelma
and her assets

because if you don't,
you're going to the prison complex."

He didn't last five minutes
and told them everything.

Federal judge Sergio Moro

has approved Operation Car Wash's
first leniency agreement.

The agreement
by the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba

refers to the defendant's statement,
Luccas Pace Junior.

He was accused of financial crimes,

money laundering, and organized crime,

as a subordinate of alleged dollar dealer,
Nelma Mitsue Penasso Kodama.

Luckily, I stayed for five months
at the Federal Police headquarters.

Others were sent to prisons.

For a while,
since I was providing services

for the correctional system,

we were able to make sure
that they divided the cells

between Operation Car Wash
and other crimes.

There was indeed a distinction

because everybody there
was a white-collar prisoner.

New arrests
in Operation Car Wash,

which is investigating corruption
at Petrobras.

One of the arrested is the head

of one of the biggest
construction companies in the country.

BUSINESSMAN

Then arrived, Marcelo,

and there was only one bed in my cell.

The others had bunk beds,
but this one only had a bed,

so he slept on the floor.

He was also obsessed with tidiness.

He would organize the fridge,
and I'd mess it up and tell him,

"Marcelo, the fridge is a complete mess!"

He'd go straight to the fridge
and organize the whole thing,

and I'd mess it up again.

All of a sudden,
someone else arrived.

A very high-ranked Odebrecht secretary.

Mrs. Maria Lúcia was imprisoned with us.

She arrived there
in complete and utter shock,

and she was absolutely shaken.

They needed her statement
so they could begin to…

force Odebrecht,

and force Marcelo
into making his leniency agreement.

She asked me about it.

I told her, "Mrs. Maria Lúcia,
you have to weigh it up."

"Your freedom or your conviction."

"I've been here for a while now."

"You may rest assured
that if you give them what they want,

you'll leave without a problem."

"What you must do
is listen to your own conscience."

We tried telling her not to do it.

"You shouldn't do it.
You've been at the company for 30 years."

"Your boss is right next door."

And Nelma told her,
"It's gonna be tough if you don't,

I know what it's like."

"If you don't testify,
you'll be screwed because of it."

Maria Lúcia Tavares
was the first Odebrecht employee

to collaborate
with the Justice Department.

She revealed the existence
of the company's bribe department.

She testified today,
in front of Judge Sergio Moro.

Nelma quickly reads the people she meets.

She has an understanding
of how the person works.

It was a bombastic statement.

Nelma convinced her to expose Marcelo.

Maybe Nelma did this to negotiate
her own leniency agreement.

Because any information
an investigated person brings in

is an important element,

so this could count as points for her,
so to speak.

So, it was in that arrangement

that I believe that I might have helped.

I don't know if she got any
concrete benefit regarding her sentence.

Still, in fact she began to be regarded
by the Car Wash team in Curitiba

as if she was a collaborator,
someone they could count on.

She was really of great help
at that moment, right?

It stirs something inside her.

She needs to be in charge,
she needs to say,

"I'm fine, let me help all of you."

I think that's more likely.
She has this thing.

She's a celebrity.

Ladies and gentlemen, Nelma Kodama!

Nelma! Thank you so much for being here.

Look at how cool this is.

I'm very important.

The president's here, below me.

This is so cool!

She didn't play the victim role.

Who could forget the day
she photographed herself

wearing an ankle monitor,
and published it.

This is a slap in the face.

I'm not sure
if she wants to be an influencer

or show off her fashionable ankle monitor.

I was afraid of going out.

Then I thought, "You know what?"

"I'm going out with my ankle monitor
because am I going to hide it?"

I think she enjoyed
playing this character,

you know,
the Hollywood, like, female bandit.

On Mariana Godoy Interviews…

Do you consider yourself a criminal?

No, I don't consider myself a criminal.

Maybe all this exposure of what she does

and even this pride in saying
she's a dollar dealer

perhaps is a characteristic of hers.

Guys, I'm taking up almost half a page
on the Sunday paper!

Maybe she'd be like that
in any other enterprise.

How did a dentist become a dollar dealer?

This is a topic for the next interview.

The thing was she liked to show off.

People recognized me and said,
"Can we take a selfie?"

I found that quite funny.

Once again, on an entire page.

I became this celebrity

because I sang
at the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee.

In a moment in which I-- I just didn't--

I didn't plan it or practice it.

It was at the Petrobras inquiry,

where they were investigating
the largest corruption scheme

in the world, so to speak.

And out of the blue,

a parliamentarian decides to ask me
about my personal life.

I declare open the 18th meeting

of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee,

created to investigate the practice
of illicit acts and irregularities,

within the scope of the company
Petróleo Brasileiro S. A., Petrobras

between the years of 2005 and 2015.

This meeting is a public hearing
to obtain statements from the following:

Nelma Kodama, Renê Luiz Pereira,
João Luiz Correa…

Is that Nelma?
Is it the same Nelma who studied with us?

All of a sudden,
there's Nelma at the Petrobras inquiry.

FRIEND

I even called my wife,
who had also studied with us.

I said, "Márcia, come here.
Look who it is."

FRIEND

We were shocked and wondering
how this could've happened.

I'm here today,
under investigation,

since I've already been sentenced
and condemned

by Judge Sergio Moro.

Small towns are like that.

You go outside,
and everyone knows each other.

Were you Alberto Youssef's lover?

I lived conjugally with Alberto Youssef
from 2000 to 2009.

I was at a Parliamentary
Inquiry Committee,

which I thought was something serious.

And this parliamentarian kept hounding me,

"Were you his lover? Were you his lover?
Were you his lover?"

"Lover" is a word that
encompasses everything, right?

A lover is a wife, a lover is a friend.

- A lover is--
- I'm not judging.

- But I am answering you.
- Just to be clear,

- I'm just reading what you wrote.
- I'm explaining it.

And I'm explaining it to you.

I'm just reading. Is there a problem?

- May I continue?
- You may.

"If you really want to know."

"If by 'lover' you mean being a friend,

a wife, a companion, and a partner,
then I was his lover."

"There's even a song by Roberto Carlos."

And at that moment everybody there
started singing it with me.

So, I simply did this…

We can't take Mrs. Nelma seriously.

She's the one who sang
"Amada Amante," remember?

It is an iconic moment, her singing
and the members of Congress singing along.

I had nothing else to do,
and what did he think I was doing?

Showing off. I wasn't showing off.

What was I doing?
Protecting myself from that question,

which was anything but a subtle question.

He asked me directly,
it was highly inelegant.

And I'm an elegant woman. Sir, please.

I met Nelma at a trade school
in Lins in the '80s.

We were around 15 to 17 years old.

For sure, Nelma was very playful.

Very playful,

so the playful people sat down
at the back of the classroom

with the slackers and got together
to joke around and create chaos.

Well, Nelma came from a very
wealthy and traditional family in Lins.

I met her as soon as we entered
Lins College after the entrance exams…

during the student hazing.

Here she is a geisha.
Look at her!

This was at Lins Dentistry School.
It's been 30 years.

There's the whole class,
which you know very well.

During all my years
at dental school,

I was the nerd, who didn't go out,

didn't go to parties,
didn't go to absolutely anything.

Then, in my last semester,
I finally started going out.

- Nelma, Ione, Gisela.
- Ione, you, Robertinha--

Robertinha.

For Nelma Kodama,
having friends is something rare.

Artur!

Many friends disappeared.

Artur.

Because they weren't friends
with Nelma Kodama.

They were friends
with Nelma Kodama's money.

My dear Artur! Do you remember
when we danced in Milan?

It has always been like this.

- She'd say--
- I'd say, "Artur!"

FRIEND

"Artur, come to Paris with me."

And I'd say…

She'd call me and say,
"Artur, I'm sending you your ticket."

We leave tomorrow, okay?

I'd say, "Tomorrow?"
"Yes, tomorrow."

And then…

This is my great
friend and dear accomplice.

- Wait, no. Not accomplice.
- No, I mean, calm down, everyone!

Not in a compromising way, right, Artur?

I don't mess with dollars or euros.

Milan.

- Istanbul.
- Istanbul is terrible.

- Artur! Istanbul was so much fun.
- Istanbul.

She's crazy, unpredictable

and reckless.

There she is.
She's hiding. Look here!

Listen, I'm going home now

because it's time for my house arrest.

Because at ten o'clock at night:

Mm!

I had my friends from college
and when we were really stressed

I'd say to them, "Guys, let's go
for a spin. Let's do a flyby."

"Let's fly over the whole city of Lins."

The plane belonged to Nelma's family.

It was always at the airport,
and we'd go there occasionally.

She'd organize everything with the pilot,
her mother didn't even know about it.

She was the one who arranged
everything with the pilot,

but she would also fly the plane.

It's not that I flew the plane.

There was a pilot,
who all of a sudden

would leave the plane in my hands.

When I noticed it,
she was changing seats with the pilot.

"Just calm down, I know what I'm doing."

It was a dangerous stunt
because I didn't have a flying license.

May the pilots forgive me.

We'd bring a few beers to enjoy

while we'd fly over the city.

He'd perform some loops
and would go up and down, like this.

And what would we hear
from her? Just laughter.

She'd be cracking up
seeing the reaction on our faces.

They were enjoying that thing of…

doing the whole thing in a "wrong way."

Not me, I was seeing things differently.

I was reflecting on how I was seeing
from way above,

what was down below.

And I thought to myself, "Oh, boy,

I wasn't born to be a dentist."

"It's not going to work."

APRIL 2022

LISBON

Guess what,
Nelma reappeared today in the news.

She was arrested in Portugal,

on an even heavier charge than before.

International drug trafficking.

According to the investigation,
she's been identified as the leader

of this organization.

Nelma Kodama
is on the investigators' list,

accused of laundering money
for a complex drug trafficking network.

Suddenly, from "Empress
of Operation Car Wash,"

I was labeled
the "Empress of Trafficking."

I am sitting on the hotel balcony,

when about ten police officers
come in and say, "You're under arrest."

In Portugal, Nelma is regarded
as a high-risk offender.

LAWYER

While Nelma was in the prison complex
of Santa Cruz do Bispo,

she was not allowed any contact
with the other inmates.

During Operation Car Wash,
I had an idea of what was happening

because I was a dollar dealer.

But in this operation,

I kept thinking,
"What are they accusing me of?"

Investigations indicate
the dollar dealer,

owned part of the 580 kilos of cocaine

seized from a Portuguese company's plane
at the airport in the capital of Bahia.

Without a doubt,
she becomes involved in this process

because of a relationship she has
with another person.

LAWYER AND NELMA'S EX-BOYFRIEND

I had a relationship with this person.

I was being betrayed by a nobody.

A nobody!

No one knows who this guy is.

But everyone knows Nelma Kodama.

He wasn't an intelligent man.

He was not a criminal.

Because a criminal man--

I'm sorry to say,
but a criminal goes by a code of honor

within the criminal world.

His word means something.

After leaving prison
due to Operation Car Wash,

I think she couldn't accept

having to live her life

with lower standards.

You pull it here,

and then you push.

So we pull

and then push.

And we pull and push again.

And so on.

She left prison
and couldn't find anything to do.

She couldn't go back
to the business world,

so she went into drug trafficking,

which is a crime
that is truly complicated.

That's something that causes
intense harm to others.

Taking dollars from the wealthy
and giving them to politicians

that was completely different.

Me being investigated

for international drug trafficking?

That is something substantial.

I'm someone who's utterly

and completely against drugs. I really am.

I am. I don't smoke I don't drink.

How could I sell drugs?

Nelma didn't accept extradition
when it was first presented to her.

She didn't want to go back
to Brazil in the dark.

She then understood that returning
would make sense,

so she could defend herself in the trial.

A dollar dealer
convicted in Operation Car Wash,

who reported businessmen and politicians,

has been extradited from
Portugal to Brazil.

She arrived in Salvador last night.

She was taken to the
Federal Police superintendence.

FEDERAL POLICE

In this operation,
Operation Discovery,

nine people were being investigated.

I was the only woman,

and the only one
who was arrested in Salvador.

Because that's where the operation
stemmed from.

I stayed there for three months.
Only I know what I went through.

It was the worst thing
that has ever happened in my life.

"Is this hell?"

I am wondering, "Is this hell?"

When you think things are bad,
it can get worse.

I have new wrinkles here.

Those two wrinkles--

I'm a dentist, so I know the muscles.

They are there now because I never laugh.

So this right here is atrophying.

It keeps atrophying.

It keeps atrophying.

JUNE 2023

Nelma is arrested in this trial

under the accusation
of alleged transnational crime,

drugs and criminal organization.

LAWYER

Our main focus at the moment
is the issue of setting her free.

Do you know if they managed
to sign it yet?

Could you verify it for me, please?

Hi, Thiago, good afternoon.

It's Bruno again.
Can I call you in five minutes?

What time do you finish working?
My God, all this to just sign a document.

It can't be.

I was in Portugal for six months.

Then, I went to Salvador
and stayed there for three months.

Then, four months here in São Paulo,

which was easy-peasy.

Ladies, the release permit was issued.

I'm going there, okay?
I'll go to make sure.

I'll let you know how it goes.
See you soon.

WOMEN'S PENITENTIARY SANTANA

He's finishing the permit.

As soon as he's done, he'll call
and I'll let you know and you can go in.

LAWYER

- There's a spot for lawyers in there.
- Let's make it easier. We'll do better.

I'll park right here,
and she'll come out and get in the car.

Freedom has a flavor,
do you know which one?

It's bittersweet.

COURT GRANTS HOUSE ARREST TO NELMA

Nelma isn't just a client,
and she's a one-of-a-kind case.

I would always visit her
twice a week in Portugal.

And she would call me every day

including Saturdays, Sundays,
bank holidays…

When I spoke to her, she'd always listen,

and she'd always be looking at me,

always looking into my eyes.

We began talking about
more trivial subjects

like how she was feeling,

her concerns,

which included her health condition,

her aspirations for the future.

Let me help you.

She was feeling more open to vent with me,

which happened more often
in our interactions.

And yes, at this moment,

I can consider Nelma to be my--

In fact, she often calls me "sweetheart."

- You look gorgeous.
- Who, me?

There were people who said
that I would never get out.

So I was starting to feel exhausted.

"Dr. Manuela, I'll never get out."

"Of course you will."

"What if I stay for eight years
or ten years?"

"But what do you think I'm doing?"

"If you were to stay eight to ten years,

I wouldn't be here with you."

I would like to introduce, Dr. Manuela,

my lawyers, Dr. Bruno

- and Dr. Felipe.
- Nice to meet you.

Dr. Manuela accompanied me
for the first six months.

I also have a case in Portugal,

which she is also following.

And now, we have you.

And Dr. Manuela,
they're young and brilliant.

and they specialize in
criminal organizations,

which is one of the reasons

why we ended up deciding
that we needed to change our strategy.

Then I realized I needed
to do something about it.

This isn't right.

If that guy, that nobody
from the high echelon got out,

why am I still here?

We are very similar in many ways,

beginning with our bad choices in men.

We laugh a lot together.

A lot.

One of the many things,
was precisely that.

She said,
"Look, doctor, as soon as I get out,

I will find you a boyfriend, all right?"

And I laughed, and said to her,

"Oh, my, if he's anything like yours…"

As they say, men came to steal from us,

humiliate us and also to use us.

For example, in Beto's case,

in addition to having
a personal relationship with him,

I had a business relationship with him.

Our involvement in Operation Car Wash
was due to her relationship with Youssef.

If it were for our regular dealings,

we probably wouldn't have been caught,
just like other dollar dealers

who had business relations
with him weren't caught.

They didn't want Nelma,
and while I was there,

I said nothing about Youssef.

Surprisingly, while watching TV,

I discovered Beto was signing
a leniency agreement.

Alberto Youssef obtained
the right to a reduced sentence

in exchange for pleading guilty
to Petrobras' crimes,

and giving evidence that revealed
the scheme at the state-owned company.

"If he did this,

I hope he pulls me out of it all
and protects me."

That's not what happened.

So I said, "Okay. Life goes on.
Let's keep going."

And that was that.

I don't think there's such a thing
as forgiving or not.

It's all right, it's all good,
life goes on.

And I wish happiness… to everyone.

To everyone. And life goes on.

Evidence of illegal
wiretapping in Alberto Youssef's cell.

After a lot of back
and forth in the court,

the defense of the accused
obtained a release permit…

The task force
began to lose its strength

after the leak of conversations
between two central characters,

the then judge Sergio Moro

and the then prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol.

Sergio Moro, Deltan Dallagnol
and their group

made decisions that broke the law.

I have always acted based on the law
and the ethical rules of the judiciary…

Moro had supposedly given
informal clues to prosecutors.

There were violations of the law,

illegalities, unethical actions.

I never advised the Public Ministry

to do anything.

Those are prosecutors taking advantage
of the public exposure they had.

Sergio Moro is the fifth minister
confirmed for Jair Bolsonaro's government.

The former federal judge was made
Minister of Justice and Public Security.

Sergio Moro continues
with his election campaign undertones.

A series of leaks
raised questions

about the impartiality of the then judge

heading the largest anti-corruption
operation in the history of Brazil.

Operation Car Wash
had 79 stages and 278 convictions.

In February 2021,
the task force was closed.

You could see
this turn of events coming,

because everything that goes up quickly,
comes down just as fast.

The feeling of vanity rises,

and when vanity rises,

you end up getting lost in power.

Loneliness, that runs deep.

She felt a vast emptiness
at the end of each day

when she was heading home

as if everything
she had done that day was gone.

She was like an artist, a comedian,

who would return home
and become an average person.

I don't remember how we met again

or where we talked, but she said to me…

"I have no one by my side."

"I have no children. I've got nothing."

"So, what was the real price
for all of this?"

"But it's okay, it's all good,

tomorrow is another day,
I'm going to do things, to conquer things,

I'll create businesses."

And…

she'd immediately
put on this character,

which I called "the Nelma Character."

I'm not a mother, so I don't know
what giving birth to a child is like.

But I have given birth to money.

Even without being the central character
in these schemes,

she stirred things up.

A dollar dealer who rises
through the criminal hierarchy

fooling all these men.

Dirty money is filthy,
but when it comes sealed,

straight from the bank,
it has an amazing smell. Right?

And it's not that rich smell
from the money's purchasing power,

but it's the sweet smell of where
that money actually originates.

This beautiful activity of…

being a dollar dealer.

The credibility of making a call
and saying,

"Listen, transfer me a million."

"It's in the account."

"I'll pay you tomorrow." "Okay."

That's all gone.

The new digital mediums
and the new payment methods,

such as tokens, NFT, Bitcoin, and others,

have made the more traditional work

of the enabling money dealer
into something obsolete.

Paper bills and credit cards are dying.

Cryptocurrency allows for a degree
of anonymity similar to that of cash.

I would be a hacker.

I would be that person who finds out

how they can make sure that
their money is untraceable.

It is very clearly an entire life

solely dedicated to criminal activity.

My friend.

I can't accept the idea of my friend Nelma
being a criminal. I won't.

I felt like a taxi driver.

I don't know where the money originated.

I don't know if it was from
drug trafficking, from a car sale,

I don't know the origin.

If Nelma says she's like a taxi driver

who doesn't know what's happening,

I'd say this would be a better analogy:

she drives the crime.

Someone's about to kidnap a person,

and she's their getaway driver.

That's one of the complicated
things about financial crimes

and these types of criminal organizations.

You can always make it seem like you
are cleaner than you actually are.

It's called white-collar crime
for a reason.

Of course, Nelma may think
that her understanding

of a crime differs from mine or others,
but it's all the same.

It's a very serious mistake

to say that financial crime and corruption

are light crimes instead of blood crimes.

Ninety-eight percent
of deforestation in Brazil is illegal.

And it can only happen through
corruption and land grabbing,

but also through those
illicit payment cash-flows

laundered by those dollar dealers.

In this country,
the engine is corruption.

Before the money even got to me,

it would go through
the major institutions.

So, the money would leave the accounts
of businessmen

and the accounts of various politicians
and would go into my account.

Operation Car Wash
uncovered a corruption scheme

that no one had ever seen in Brazil.

What I believe happened there

was a certain omnipotence involved
in the thought process

that because you're fighting a crime,
you have free rein.

We could often see that
there was a missionary instinct,

but when the system decides to react,
that is when it gets you.

When the operation
got to the judiciary,

it began to be dismantled.

But it didn't even get anywhere close
to the financial system.

It is estimated that around
five to eight percent of the world's GDP

comes from money laundering.

There would never be
a grand corruption scheme

without the connivance
of the financial system.

In Brazil and internationally.

So what was against the law?

I wasn't against the law.

They were never guilty.

There was a government body,
which is the COAF,

who were supposed to monitor this. Not me.

Pure cynicism facilitated
by our society's tolerance,

which sees no problem in enduring
white-collar crime by the elite,

which is made up largely by the white skin
and light eyes that walk

up and down
the corridors of power in Brasília,

as well as the spaces of luxury.

Holding responsible a large Swiss bank,

a large New York law firm,

or the government of European
countries that turned a blind eye

and ensured that their countries
benefited with money

from global corruption
and money laundering.

I think that this switch
is the biggest challenge.

It's all outside the law.

I'm an outlaw,
and everything else is as well.

The big question is
does the political system,

do the regulators,

and does the government
really want to be ahead of the crime?

Or is it convenient to stay a bit behind?

I want to thank all of you
because you are my team.

- Will it be fine?
- It will be fine for sure.

Of course it will be because I'm innocent.

Once we annulled Operation Car Wash's
final decision, you became innocent.

I'm also innocent of this crime,
you know why?

Because I would never
have done this operation.

And if I had done it,
it would have worked out

because I'm not stupid.

THE HOUSE ARREST WAS REVOKED,
NELMA KODAMA REMAINS IN FREEDOM

AND WAITING FOR TRIAL
IN THE DRUG TRAFFICKING CASE

IN THE CAR WASH, HER LAWYER IS TRYING
TO VOID THE CONVICTION,

BASED ON PREVIOUS COURT DECISIONS.

I'm going to tell you a secret.
I'm allergic to money.

I'm so allergic to it
that it makes me super itchy.

You have no idea.

I'm sorry.

I'm allergic to money.