Dolce and Gabbana sentenced to 18 months in jail for tax evasion
VITTORIO ZUNINO CELOTTO/Getty Images


A Milan tax court ruled in favor of Italy's tax authority, Agenzia delle Entrate, and found Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana guilty of tax evasion. The pair appealed the decision a lower court reached last year, but the higher court didn't rule in their favor, either.
Dolce and Gabbana had been suspected of tax evasion for nearly 10 years and were charged with using a Luxembourg-based holding company, Gado, to avoid paying taxes on royalties of $1.38 billion, reports Reuters.
Both the designers, as well as their accountant Luciano Patelli, were sentenced to 18 months of jail time — the sentence was reduced from 20 months thanks to the statute of limitations on facts in the case. But luckily for them, Italy has a minimum two-year sentencing for jail time, so Dolce and Gabbana will likely serve their sentence through house arrest and community service rather than in jail cells.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The designers' lawyer says they plan to appeal the case again, though at this point it seems wiser for them to quit while they're behind.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
June 29 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the AI genie, Iran saving face, and bad language bombs
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
The Supreme Court case that could forge a new path to sue the FBI
The Explainer The case arose after the FBI admitted to raiding the wrong house in 2017
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suit
Speed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
Swearing in the UK: a colourful history
In The Spotlight Thanet council's bad language ban is the latest chapter in a saga of obscenity
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence