Italian police have seized shares worth €1.3 billion from Lagfin, the Luxembourg-based holding company that controls Campari Group, as part of a major tax evasion investigation.
The seizure, announced by Milan’s financial police, follows a year-long probe into how Lagfin absorbed Campari’s Italian arm. Investigators allege the company failed to pay taxes equal to the value of the seized shares during the merger process.
Lagfin owns more than 50 percent of Campari’s shares and holds around 80 percent of voting rights. The company is accused of transferring Italian assets abroad to avoid taxes, including an “exit tax” applied when firms relocate their headquarters outside Italy.
According to investigators, between 2018 and 2020 the company allegedly failed to declare €5.3 billion in capital gains. The Milan prosecutor’s office launched its probe last year after reviewing documents related to the corporate restructuring.
Lagfin said in a statement that it had “always acted in the most scrupulous respect of any applicable laws and regulations, including any Italian tax laws.” It described the case as a “tax dispute” and vowed to “defend itself vigorously.”
Garavoglia also under investigation
Campari Group, one of the world’s largest producers of spirits, said neither it nor its subsidiaries were involved in the investigation. The company stressed that the seizure would not affect Lagfin’s control over Campari, given its strong majority of voting rights.
Campari’s chairman, Luca Garavoglia, is among those under investigation, along with Giovanni Berto, who heads the company’s Italian branch, according to Italian media reports. Garavoglia, one of Italy’s richest businessmen, inherited control of the drinks group from his late mother.
Founded in Milan in 1860 by Gaspare Campari, the company grew from a family business into a global brand. Its portfolio includes Aperol, Grand Marnier and Courvoisier, and it is currently valued at around €7 billion on the Milan Stock Exchange.
