ROME, April 1 - RAPSI, Natalya Shmakova. The Milan Court of Appeals on Saturday found Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana guilty of 1 billion euro tax evasion and fined them €343 million, newspaper Corriere della Sera writes.

The Italian tax and judicial authorities have been investigating the founders of the globally famous Dolce&Gabbana trademark for the past few years.

According to investigators, the fashion house's managers have been distorting financial reports and falsifying tax declarations since 2004, when Dolce & Gabbana Luxemburg sarl and Gado sarl were established in Luxembourg, allegedly to escape a tax bill of up to €1 billion.

In April 2011, Judge Simone Luerti dismissed the charges against Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana as unsubstantiated. But in November 2011 the Supreme Court of Cassation overturned the ruling and ordered a retrial.