Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have had a lucky escape after Judge Simone Luerti ruled they would not stand trial for tax evasion.
You might remember me writing in November about the charges, which alleged that the Italian designers had each moved $569 million to a Luxembourg holding company to avoid paying tax between 2004 and 2006. However it took the judge just four and a half hours yesterday to decide the D&G head honchos had no case to answer for.
Understandably Giuseppe Bana, the lawyer for the designing duo’s accountant Luciano Patelli, said he was “very pleased” with the decision. He added that the judge prevented what was an unnecessary investigation from going too far.
I’m sure that Dolce and Gabbana themselves are also feeling pretty relieved right now. Those figures were astronomical and forecasters predicted they’d have to pay a $1 billion fine if they were found guilty. Even if they were found innocent, the bad publicity from a lengthy legal trial wouldn’t have helped the Dolce & Gabbana brand any.
Thankfully now the Italian creative team can get back to what they do best and focus on designing those handbags and couture items for the next season’s collections!
[Image Source: Michael Gray/Flickr]
