Campari chairman Luca Garavoglia faces trial call over €1.29bn tax case

Italian prosecutors have called for Campari Group chairman Luca Garavoglia to stand trial over his alleged complicity in tax evasion totalling €1.29 billion. The case flows from the 2018 merger of Alicros, an Italian holding company that then held 51% of Campari, with Luxembourg-based Lagfin.

Prosecutors say they discovered €5.3 billion (US$5.9bn) in undeclared capital gains made between 2018 and 2020. On those gains, Lagfin is alleged to have failed to pay a €1.29 billion (US$1.45bn) exit tax, which applies to firms that move their fiscal residence abroad.

The financial side of the dispute has already been closed. Lagfin settled with the Italian Revenue Agency in December 2025, agreeing to repay €405 million (US$454m) in instalments. That is the sum it agreed to pay, set beside the €1.29 billion figure prosecutors cite.

Why the criminal case continues

Italian law separates financial and criminal investigations, so the December settlement does not end the matter for Garavoglia personally. He could still stand trial over the alleged evasion even though the holding company behind the merger has reached terms with the tax authority.

Garavoglia has been chairman of Campari Group since 1994, which is more than three decades at the head of the Milan-headquartered drinks company. Forbes estimates his personal net worth at US$2.7 billion. Campari Group has been contacted for comment and no response is reported.

Lagfin currently holds 50.3% of the ordinary share capital of Campari Group and 81.9% of its total voting rights. The Garavoglia family are the majority shareholders who control Lagfin, so the defendant's family is behind the holding at the centre of the case.

The company behind the name

Campari Group owns brands including Aperol, Appleton Estate rum and Skyy Vodka. Aperol is the spritz brand, and the group is known well beyond the red aperitif that gave it its name, with a portfolio spanning Italian aperitifs, Jamaican rum and American vodka.

The business has kept growing while the case developed. In May, the company reported organic sales growth of 2.9% for the first quarter of 2026, on total sales of €643 million (US$757m). Nothing in those results refers to the prosecutors or to the chairman's position.

Campari Group has also been reshaping its portfolio. It has found a buyer for its agricole rums, and Cobblestone Brands has bought two spirits from the group. The company also holds 90% of the UK spritz market, according to related reporting.

The exit tax at issue is the charge Italy applies when a company moves its fiscal residence abroad. Prosecutors argue Lagfin owed €1.29 billion on the capital gains from the merger, while the settlement figure of €405 million is the one now being repaid.

For Garavoglia the exposure is personal as well as corporate. The holding that controls Campari Group has paid to settle with the Revenue Agency, but the prosecutors' request is directed at the chairman himself, who is accused of complicity in the alleged evasion.

Campari Group has made no statement on whether the chairman's role is affected. The facts available are limited to the prosecutors' request, the December 2025 settlement and the shareholding structure, and the company is yet to respond publicly to the accusation.

The request for trial now goes to the Italian courts, where a judge must decide whether Garavoglia stands trial. No date for that decision has been reported, and the settlement does not bind the criminal process under Italian law.

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