Dolce and Gabbana Sentenced to Jail

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.