Fashion icons Dolce & Gabbana were each given a reduced, suspended sentence of 18 months in jail on Wednesday for a conviction on charges of hiding hundreds of millions of euros from Italian tax authorities.
Italy’s appeals court upheld a verdict issued last June against the pair, who are as famous as the stars they dress, on charges of using Luxembourg holding company Gado to avoid paying taxes on royalties of an estimated 1 billion euros ($1.38 billion).
The original sentence was reduced from 20 months to 18 months because the statute of limitations applied to certain facts in the case.
The case began in 2008 when Italian tax authorities stepped up their fight against tax evasion as a global financial crisis.
Since 2008, Fashion companies have fallen under the scrutiny of Italy's tax authorities partly due to the fact the sector has performed well during the country's longest recession since WWII.
I would have done the same, 1Billion is a huge amount