Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary delving into the extensive crimes and luxurious life of a notorious black-market currency trader, Netflix’s ‘Nelma Kodama: The Queen of Dirty Money’ truly lives up to its title. That’s because it incorporates not just archival footage plus dramatic recreations but also exclusive interviews to really underscore how the titular Brazilian dollar dealer came into the limelight. Though if we’re being honest, it was the mention of her personal connections that intrigued us the most since they are how she has apparently gotten involved in criminal conduct/legal troubles.
Julio Cesar Emilio Now Prefers to Lead a Quiet Life
It was back when Nelma was just establishing a career for herself in finance that she first came across Julio Cesar Emilio through her bank manager, only for them to gradually become involved. “One day, while I was [at the bank],” she conceded in the aforementioned production, “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. That was when my relationship with him started and I began diving into my craft as a dollar dealer.” In other words, he was the one to introduce her to this world and get her hooked.
However, everything changed within a few years as Nelma rose up the ladder as a more than accomplished currency reader while Julio chose to step away from the in fear of being captured. The truth is his brother-in-law, federal judge Rocha Mattos, was caught, condemned, and sentenced for selling court rulings in 2003, which made him fearful about something happening to him too. “He was completely shaken and depressed,” as per his then-girlfriend. “He did not want to leave his apartment, so I took on the load. I was an employee and I was handling all the mess.”
Nelma continued, “The whole transition from employee to owner happened when we opened [another business a while later]… I ended up becoming the owner because Julio did not want to come back.” In fact, from what we can tell, it appears as if this entrepreneur actually left illegal currency trading behind for good so as to lead a different life — possibly backed by the funds he’d already earned. In other words, he seemingly prefers to keep a low profile well away from the limelight these days, meaning we unfortunately don’t know much regarding any aspect of his recent experiences.
Rowles Magalhães is Currently Facing Legal Trouble
While not much information regarding Rowles, his past, or his profession is publicly available at the moment, we do know he was a lawyer who was once romantically involved with Nelma. But alas, according to reports, they were both arrested in 2022 as a part of Operation Discovery for being involved in an international cocaine drug smuggling ring from Brazil to Portugal. She’s accused of being a key coordinator amongst parties, whereas he faces charges related to conspiracy as well as posing as a businessman to win over the dollar dealer to have her facilitate the trafficking.
Nelma has actually vehemently maintained her innocence in this matter, claiming her connection with Rowles alone got her involved in this mess and that she didn’t knowingly do anything illegal. “I fell madly in love,” she once said. “Rowles said he was in agribusiness in Mato Grosso, I was very involved. He had sex very well, affectionate, rich, and handsome. What woman wouldn’t fall in love? I saw no evidence that he was a scammer. He introduced me to his daughters and his mother and I became more and more enchanted.”
She then continued, “But, in reality, he was a scoundrel, a scoundrel. When I found out he was no good, I broke off the relationship. A few months later, this Federal Police operation came, and I ended up arrested for the crimes this b*****d committed.” Therefore, today, from what we can tell, this purported family man is simply awaiting trial for the criminal charges against him — it’s unclear whether he’s detained in a prison, at home, or out on bail until the court proceedings progress. What we do know is that he faces a lengthy prison sentence if convicted.
Read More: Alberto “Beto” Youssef: The Dollar Dealer Now Leads a Quiet Life
