Dolce & Gabbana lose appeal against tax evasion charges

Italian designer duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who had previously been

found guilty of tax evasion and were sentenced to one year and six months in prison have lost their appeal.

On Wednesday an Italian appeals court upheld the former ruling of a lower court, which found the designer duo and their accountant Luciano Patellito guilty of evading taxes equal to 200 million euros.

However, according to Italian law they will not have to serve time in custody, as the sentences are lower than the minimum two-year sentence time. Dolce and Gabbana will also not face jail time until the appeals process has come to an official end.

Massimo Dinoia, the lawyer representing Dolce and Gabbana was reportedly “speechless” and “totally stunned” by the courts ruling and intends to appeal to the Italian high court.

In 2008, both designers were accused of tax evasion when in 2004 control of the labels Dolce & Gabbana and diffusion line D&G were transferred to a Luxembourg-based holding company Gado Srl. in order to avoid paying Italian taxes.