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| image: thebiographychannel |
Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, founders of the world-famous fashion label Dolce & Gabbana, were sentenced in Milan today to a suspended 18-month jail term after their conviction in a long-running tax-fraud case was upheld.
The Associated Press reported that an appeals court reduced the sentence
slightly but refused a request to dismiss the case, even though it came from the prosecutor.
The designers, leaders of Milan fashion, were convicted of failing to pay tax on income of about $277 million by creating fictitious companies in Luxembourg to dodge heftier corporate tax rates in Italy.
Dolce and Gabbana denied the charges but they were convicted in June and were each sentenced to 20 months in jail. On appeal, the prosecution asked the court to drop the charges and acquit them, but the appeals court ignored that and confirmed the guilty verdicts, with a slight reduction in the jail term.
The court also upheld a stiff fine and sentenced four others — three Dolce & Gabbana managers, including Dolce's brother Alfonso, and a tax consultant — to suspended prison terms ranging from 14 to 18 months.
"I am speechless. I am flabbergasted. We will definitely appeal," said Massimo Dinoia, a lawyer for the designers. In Italy, rulings can be challenged twice before they are final.
Source: usatoday
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