Italy's Prada owners in tax evasion probe

The alleged tax evasion relates to the 10 years Prada's holding company was based in Luxembourg

Miuccia Prada, photographed by her close friend and right-hand woman, Manuela Pavesi

Italian fashion legend Miuccia Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli have today admitted they are being investigated by Italian authorities over past taxes.

Prada, who is chairwoman, and Bertelli, who is chief executive officer, at the Hong Kong listed fashion house said they had been informed by the Italian Judicial Authority of the tax probe.

The company was first subject to a tax investigation last year and it brought its holding company back from Luxembourg to Italy to appease the authorities.

The latest investigation of Miuccia, who is the youngest granddaughter of founder Mario Prada and has led the label since 1978, and her husband comes as a surprise. The alleged tax evasion relates to the 10 years that they were based in Luxembourg.

Prada said in a statement: “The procedure follows the voluntary disclosure made by Miuccia Prada Bianchi and Patrizio Bertelli which resulted, in December 2013, in an agreement between them and the Italian Tax Authority.”

Prada said the company and its subsidiaries are not involved in the investigation.

The probe is part of a wider tax avoidance crackdown by Milan prosecutors. In April Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were each given a reduced, suspended sentence of 18 months in jail for a conviction on charges of hiding hundreds of millions of euros from Italian tax authorities.

Dolce and Gabbana had earlier appealed claims they had used Luxembourg holding company Gado to avoid paying taxes on royalties of around €1 billion.