Dolce & Gabbana cleared of tax evasion

Italian design due Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana will not stand trial for allegedly evading one billion euros in tax.

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, properly known as Dolce & Gabbana, had been facing tax evasion saga for almost a year, which came to end on Friday when an Italian judge ruled that the designer duo will not stand trial.

Dolce & Gabbana's legal defense had refuted the accusations of fraud, which stemmed from the 2004 sale of the brand to a Luxembourg-based holding company. The prosecution investigated the move under suspicion the move was meant to avoid Italian taxes, but last week's decision ultimately put that notion to rest.

"I am very pleased with this decision and I'm not in the least surprised. The judge prevented this from going too far, it's an investigation that should never have been initiated in the first place," said Giuseppe Bana, lawyer for the pair.