NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW : Italian Designers Dolce and Gabbana Sentenced to Jail

Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce (R) and Stefano Gabbana

BBC

Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been sentenced to jail in Italy for one year and eight months for tax evasion.

The pair were not at the trial and deny the charges.

They are accused of hiding millions of euros from Italian tax authorities.

Dolce and Gabbana have not yet given a public comment on the sentence and are likely to appeal the verdict. They are said to be unlikely to go to jail any time soon.

Their customers have included Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Kate Moss and Bryan Ferry.

The investigation by the Italian authorities began around six years ago as part of a government plan to crack down on tax avoidance.

At the hearing on Wednesday, the judge ruled that the designers moved their brand to a Luxembourg-based holding company Gado in 2004.

He said they had done this to avoid declaring taxes on royalties of around 1 billion euros (£833m; $1.3bn).

Prosecutors alleged they sold the business for well below actual market value.

They were initially cleared of the charges at a previous trial in April 2011 but Italy's highest court overturned that ruling, ordering that the case should be sent back.