Dolce and Gabbana not guilty on tax evasion

Designers Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce of Italian fashion label Dolce & Gabbana were ruled not guilty of tax evasion by Italy’s Corte Suprema di Cassazione. This also includes general director Cristiana Ruella, finance director Giuseppe Minoni and accountant Luciano Patelli.

As part of a larger push to quell tax evasion nationwide the duo were being investigated by the italian government almost seven years ago. They were convicted on charges of failing to pay taxes on proceeds of hundreds of millions of Euros in 2013. Both defendants had been each sentenced to 18 months in jail. They had maintained their innocence.

In a public statement on twitter, the designers wrote: “We have always been honest and we are extremely proud of this recognition by the Italian Court of Justice. Viva l'Italia.”

Dolce & Gabbana's lawyer, Massimo Dinoia said to WWD after the verdict: “We have been saying that they were innocent for the past seven years. Nobody can take back the negative publicity they received over these seven years, but we knew we were in the right all along.”