The Rooneys had amassed a £4m fortune from their driveway business, according to a Proceeds of Crime hearing in 2019 at which they were ordered to pay back £1m, most of it to their victims.
However, Victim A’s sister, who at one stage during his captivity had presumed her brother was dead, said he never received “adequate compensation”, being awarded just £12,428 by the court.
Seven years since the trial, she has taken action to secure a payout from CICA, which is an agency of the Ministry of Justice.
Remaining anonymous to protect her brother’s identity, she said she was “incandescent with rage” that he had been forced to wait so long.
His wait meant he had been unable to fund rehabilitation for injuries inflicted by his captors.
She said she “only wishes the money could fix him, but it won’t”.
“What we got back was not the man that left us,” she added.
Like many victims of slavery, Victim A could not get Legal Aid to help him secure compensation.
Solicitor Liam Symonds, who represented him on a pro bono basis, said he hoped the case “might be… a platform for other survivors to bring their own claims”.
