Italy prosecutors probe Campari holding company over alleged tax evasion, sources say

MILAN (Reuters) -Milan prosecutors have opened an investigation into the holding company that controls Italian drinks group Campari, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

The prosecutors launched the probe after checks by tax police uncovered around 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) of unpaid taxes from 2018-2020, owed by the Luxembourg-based holding Lagfin, the sources said.

"The company has always fulfilled its tax obligations with the utmost scruple in all the jurisdictions where it operates and considers any potential objection to be devoid of any basis," Lagfin said in a statement, adding that no formal notice of assessment has been issued to date.

The police found 5 billion euros of undeclared revenues on which the company failed to pay a so-called "exit tax", levied on firms that transfer their fiscal headquarters abroad, the sources said.

In a statement, the Campari Group said neither the company nor its subsidiaries are under investigation and did not expect any impact as a result.

($1 = 0.9366 euros)

(Reporting by Emilio Parodi and Devika Nair, writing by Gavin Jones, editing by Timothy Heritage and Deepa Babington)