Milan’s General Attorney has closed investigations into Kering group’s alleged tax evasion: defendants under investigation for income tax fraud are Marco Bizzarri, who is currently Gucci’s chief executive officer, and his predecessor, Patrizio Di Marco. The news is being reported by Reuters press agency, which picked the information from investigating sources. The prosecuting counsel claims that revenues earned by Swiss Luxury Goods International (LGI), a company managed by Kering group and supplier of products made by Gucci, should have been taxed in Italy, not in Switzerland: allegedly, income tax fraud is related to 7 financial statements, from 2010 to 2016. In doing so, Kering’s fraud to Italy’s Inland Revenue reportedly amounts to about 1 billion euros, as made known by Reuters, minus the tax amount previously paid by the holding in Switzerland. From a procedural point of view, point out Reuters, the closure of the investigation is technically prior to commitment for trial, unless new elements come up in the next 20 days. As reported by Reuters press agency, the case might come to completion either through a plea bargain or a dismissal. As for Kering group, they deny “a consolidated hidden organization in Italy”, depicted by Milan’s Attorney; in other words, Kering reject the accusations of headquartering abroad a fully Italian business exclusively for tax reasons. In the meantime, last October the French corporation announced the staff reorganization at Luxury Goods International: by the first half of 2019, 150 employees, out of 800 currently hired in the Swiss enterprise, will be relocated in some of Kering’s offices in Italy. The aim is the refurbishment of the group’s supply chain.
Milan’s Attorney closes investigation into Kering’s alleged tax evasion: fraud to Inland Revenue reportedly amounts to 1 billion euros
