Italian designer duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been found guilty of evading tax in their home country and were sentenced to 20 months in prison.
Dolce and Gabbana (D&G) were accused of selling their company to a Luxembourg-based firm, Gado, in 2004 to avoid declaring tax on USD 1.3 billion.
Prosecutors claimed Gado is a shell company that made no administrative or financial decisions, reported Ace Showbiz.
The designers whose clients include Madonna and Kate Moss among other high-profile celebrities had initially been acquitted of tax fraud in 2011 when a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to indict them, but the highest Italian court overturned the ruling.
Prosecutors wanted Dolce and Gabbana to spend two and a half year in jail for the tax evasion, but the judge granted them only 20 months in prison. The designers were also ordered to pay heavy fines.
Published 20 June 2013, 11:12 IST