Italian prosecutors have requested that Campari chairman Luca Garavoglia stand trial over allegations involving €1.29 billion in unpaid taxes, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter cited by Reuters.
The case concerns the Luxembourg-based family holding company Lagfin, which controls the Italian drinks group Campari. Prosecutors in Monza are pursuing allegations linked to the treatment of capital gains following a corporate restructuring that moved the group’s holding structure to Luxembourg.
Prosecutors allege unpaid exit tax
According to prosecutors, Lagfin had around €5.3 billion in undeclared capital gains between 2018 and 2020. They allege that the company failed to pay €1.29 billion in exit tax, a levy that can apply when a company transfers its fiscal residence outside Italy.
The investigation is connected to a 2018 merger involving Alicros, the Italian company that controlled Campari, and Lagfin, which was based in Luxembourg and held a majority stake in Alicros.
After the merger, the resulting structure held a 51% stake in Campari and was transferred to Luxembourg.
Italian prosecutors and the Guardia di Finanza, the country’s financial police, allege that the restructuring was intended to avoid the applicable exit tax.
Tax settlement and criminal case are separate
The tax dispute involving Lagfin and Italy’s Revenue Agency was settled in December 2025. Under that agreement, Lagfin agreed to pay €405 million in instalments.
However, Italian law treats tax proceedings and criminal investigations as separate matters. As a result, the earlier tax settlement does not automatically resolve the criminal proceedings involving the individuals named in the case.
Lagfin said in a statement that the case against the company itself had already been dismissed on statute-of-limitations grounds in July. The company also said it could not suffer financial loss or prejudice from the proceedings referred to by prosecutors.
Lawyers reject allegations
Garavoglia and Giovanni Berto, Lagfin’s legal representative, have both been named in the prosecutors’ request for trial.
Their lawyers, Giuseppe Iannaccone and Nerio Diodà, told Reuters that the defence would establish the clients’ innocence.
The prosecutors’ request is not itself a finding of guilt. A judge will first schedule a preliminary hearing, after which the court will decide whether the defendants should face trial or whether the case should be dismissed.
Case linked to Luxembourg restructuring
Garavoglia, who has served as Campari chairman since 1994, is also the group’s largest shareholder through Lagfin.
The investigation focuses on the tax consequences of the 2018 restructuring and whether the movement of the corporate structure from Italy to Luxembourg created an obligation to pay exit tax on previously accrued capital gains.
For companies operating across multiple jurisdictions, corporate restructurings can involve complex tax, reporting and regulatory considerations. Such cases also highlight the importance of International Tax planning and compliance when businesses change their corporate or tax structures across borders.
The preliminary hearing will determine the next stage of the proceedings, while the allegations against the defendants remain subject to judicial review.