Brothers Erwin and Krystian Markowski, from Nottingham have been ordered to repay £167,650 following their conviction and jail sentencing for modern slavery offences.
The brothers were convicted in January 2017 of trafficking 18 vulnerable men from Poland to come and work in the UK at the Sports Direct warehouse in Derbyshire. The brothers controlled the victims’ bank accounts and withheld salary payments. Their actions were uncovered when one of the victims reported the crimes to the police.
Both were sentenced to six years in prison in January 2017 and were made the subjects of the country’s first 10 year Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Order in March 2017. This carries restrictions including ordering that the brothers cannot contact the victims for the duration of the Order, they are not allowed to carry more than £500 in cash at any time, cannot be involved in any multi-occupancy accommodation or arrange to transport people to or within the UK and they must provide Nottinghamshire Police Force with their addresses, phone numbers and bank account details. If they breach any part of this Order they face up to five further years in prison.
At the most recent hearing on 19 January, Krystian Markowski, 36, was found to have benefited £184,280 from his criminal exploits and was ordered to repay £97,650.50. Erwin Markowski, 39, was deemed to have benefited by £122,306 and must repay £70,000.
They both face extensions on their current prison sentences if they fail to repay the money within three months.
Luke Blackburn acted for the prosecution.
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