Sports Direct modern slavery brothers ordered to pay £167,000

The Markowski brothers. Photo courtesy of Nottinghamshire Police/PA

Two brothers who trafficked men from Poland to work in Sport Direct’s Shirebrook warehouse have been ordered to repay £167,650 in criminal gains.

At Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, Krystian Markowski was found to have benefited £184,280 from his the trafficking and was ordered to repay £97,650.50.

Erwin Markowski was deemed to have benefited by £122,306 and must now repay £70,000.

If Krystian fails to pay the money within three months he could be jailed for a further 15 months, while Erwin could face another 12 months, according to BBC reports.

The pair were jailed last January. They employed a “spotter” in Poland to lure 18 vulnerable men to the UK to work at Spors Direct. The pair opened bank accounts for the men when they started working at Shirebrook and withdrew most of their income.

The Polish workers had their passports taken from them and were left with about £90 from a weekly wage that should have been £265, the court heard. The Markowskis, who made £35,000 from the scheme, were caught after one of the victims tipped off police.

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