Today Dolce & Gabbana have been found innocent of tax evasion. At Italy’s highest court Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce were found not guilty, over turning the two previous sentences made in two lower courts.

According to WWD the five-member jury, headed by Alfredo Teresi, cleared Dolce and Gabbana and the other defendants. This includes general director Cristiana Ruella, finance director Giuseppe Minoni and accountant Luciano Patelli. The three hour meeting found there was no ground for a case.

In a press release from Dolce and Gabbana the designers said of the news: “We have always been honest and we are extremely proud of this recognition by the Italian Court of Justice. Viva l’Italia.”

The Italian designers were charged with hiding hundreds of millions of euros from Italian tax authorities. They were accused of using Gado, a Luxembourg holding company, to avoid paying taxes on royalties of about 1 billion euros.

Stefano and Domenico were indicted for tax fraud in 2010, but investigations by an Italian police force under the authority of the national minister of economy and finance began back in 2008. In April an appeals court gave them a suspended sentence of 18 months in jail. The designers always denied the charges.

(Article taken from Grazia magazine)