Schapelle Corby, who will be deported to Australia after her parole expires on May 27, will have the opportunity to make hundred of thousands of dollars within weeks of her return to home soil.
According to celebrity publicist Max Markson, the convicted drug smuggler will likely be inundated with paid offers — among them, reality TV show appearances and invitations to attend events such as The Melbourne Cup.
“There’s probably a few hundred grand generated for her the first few weeks she’s back, and there’ll be more (money) later on too,” Mr Markson told 3AW on Monday.
“There’ll be some companies that don’t want to have a bar of her, and there’ll be others that are interested.”
He added: “She’ll be controversial.”
Mr Markson explained that Corby has created a “brand” for herself after nine years in Bali’s Kerobokan Prison.
“Once you do something that’s in the public domain and make a profile for yourself, you’ve got it for the rest of your life,” he said.
“Schapelle Corby’s name has been famous for 12 or 13 years, she’s a brand, there’s no doubt about it.”
“Crime pays, and it can keep paying later on.”
Corby, who continues to maintain her innocence, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2005 after she was arrested the previous year in Bali with 4.1kg of cannabis stashed inside a bodyboard bag.
She has been living in Bali since she was granted parole in 2014.
WATCH: Schapelle Corby’s sister offers support in the lead-up to her deportation. Post continues…
The 39-year-old recently complained to Indonesian officials about being stalked by the media during her final weeks in the country.
Speaking with Bali immigration and corrections chiefs, the Australian-native explained that she has felt unable to work out, swim or jog for fear of being followed and photographed.
“She said that she is well but that she is fat now. Because she cannot exercise,” Muhammad Natsir, Immigration chief at the Law and Human Rights Ministry, told The Daily Telegraph.
He added: “She said that she is always chased by people, journalists. Poor her. She said, ‘That’s why I am fat now. When I want to go for exercise, I am always chased. So I feel shame.’ That’s what she said.”
Corby’s sister Mercedes arrived in Bali on Friday to offer support in the lead-up to her deportation to Australia.
