Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have each been granted a reduced, suspended sentence of 18 months in jail on Wednesday.
The decision by Milan’s Court of Appeal maintains the guilty verdict of Dolce and Gabbana’s trial from last June, however reduced the sentence from 20 months because the statue of limitation applied to certain facts in the case.
The duo, whose designs are esteemed by many A-list celebrities, were found guilty in 2013 on charges of hiding around 1 billion euros ($1.38 billion) from Italian tax authorities. The two committed tax evasion by managing their fashion empire through a Luxembourg-based company called Gado in 2004 and 2005.
The pair appealed and denied the charges against them throughout the whole process.
Massimo Dinoia, Dolce and Gabbana’s defense lawyer, has always denied any wrongdoing from the two and claimed that they would appeal the decision. “I am speechless,” stated Mr. Dinoia after the verdict. “We are all shocked. The judgment is inexplicable and we will appeal.”
Because the court issued an acquittal on an expired charge, instead of letting it fall to the statute of limitations, Mr. Dinoia remains fixed on expressing the pair’s guiltlessness. He states that the actions of the court only proved that “their innocence is evident.”
Three other defendants, including two managers, were also convicted in the scheme and given suspended sentences of one year and four months. A sixth defendant was acquitted.
