Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana found guilty in Milan court of failing to declare €1bn in income

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

The fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been convicted of tax evasion after being found guilty of failing to declare €1bn (£850m) in income.

A court in Milan sentenced them both to one year and eight months in jail.

Prosecutors argued that the pair had evaded taxes on income of €416m each and €200m through a Luxembourg-based company. The statute of limitations ran out on a charge of misrepresenting income.

The designers have denied the charges.

Two years ago a judge threw out a tax evasion and fraud case against the pair, whose label, Dolce & Gabbana, is a pillar of the Milan fashion industry. Italy's high court later ruled the designers could be prosecuted for tax evasion, though not for fraud.