By Emilio Parodi
MILAN (Reuters) -Italian tax police said on Friday they had seized shares worth 1.29 billion euros ($1.5 billion) from a Luxembourg-based holding company that controls Italian drinks group Campari, over alleged tax evasion.
The holding company, Lagfin SCA, denied any wrongdoing and said in a statement that it would defend its position “vigorously and serenely in all competent forums”.
Campari said it was not involved in the case and neither were any of its subsidiaries.
However, according to the seizure order seen by Reuters, Campari Chairman Luca Garavoglia is among those under investigation for fraudulent tax returns, in addition to Lagfin SCA as a company.
Garavoglia’s lawyers did not immediately reply to a written request for comment.
Milan prosecutors last year launched a criminal probe after checks by the Guardia di Finanza police uncovered around 1 billion euros of allegedly unpaid taxes from 2018-2020, owed by Lagfin.
The investigation was then transferred to the nearby public prosecutor’s office in the city of Monza, which ordered Friday’s seizure of shares.
Lagfin said it held over 80% of Campari’s voting rights, meaning the precautionary seizure was “absolutely unable to affect the position of Lagfin as controlling shareholder of Campari”.
Police said in their statement on Friday they had found 5.3 billion euros of undeclared capital gains on which the company failed to pay a so-called “exit tax”, levied on firms that transfer their fiscal headquarters abroad.
The capital gains stemmed from a merger between Lagfin and its Italian subsidiary, which owned a controlling stake in Campari.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Additional reporting by Francesca Landini, editing by Gavin Jones and Crispian Balmer)
