appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Agencies

Italian police raided the offices of several luxury brands including Bulgari and Chanel over suspicions they used subcontractors employing Chinese workers, a prosecutor said Thursday.
The other luxury brands included Brunello Cucinelli, Etro, Goyard Italie, Jacob Cohen Company, Moncler, and Stefano Ricci, Milan prosecutor Paolo Storari said, confirming information published by business daily Il Sole 24 Ore.
None of the nine companies is under investigation, and prosecutors have not sought court-appointed administration for any of them, according to a judicial document reviewed by Reuters.
Cucinelli said in a statement it was surprised and deeply saddened that part of the materials intended for its ⁠packaging were found at an unsuitable workplace, despite supplier checks and fair pricing, and pledged full ‌cooperation to protect workers and the wider “Made in Italy” brand.
The other firms did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The move, conducted on Thursday, ‌is the second of its kind, after the Carabinieri labour unit in ⁠Milan carried out ⁠a similar operation in December 2025 at the headquarters of 13 other luxury brands over the same issues.
The wide-ranging investigation by the Milan prosecutor’s office uncovered numerous instances of exploitative work conditions in the supply chains of some of Italy’s leading fashion houses, including Prada, Givenchy and Dolce & Gabbana.
At issue is the near-ubiquitous practice of brands subcontracting work to suppliers that in turn contract to others, amid ever-tighter margins and scant oversight of labour conditions, ending up with firms who employ Chinese workers in exploitative conditions.
Several brands, including Loro Piana, have been temporarily placed under administration due to concerns about labour conditions at suppliers. The restrictions were lifted after the firms agreed to manage their supply chains more strictly.
Italy’s government has come to the defence of luxury brands, with Industry Minister Adolfo Urso saying last year that the reputation of Italian brands was “under attack”.
According to a nine-page decree seen by Reuters, the additional brands were drawn into the ‌probe ‌after police found products and subcontracting documents linked to them during earlier searches of two ‌workshops, accused of exploiting undocumented Chinese workers.
The two Chinese-owned workshops made garment bags, shopping bags ⁠and pouches for Brandart and F. VL., two companies also visited by the Carabinieri on ⁠Thursday, which supplied the items directly to the nine fashion brands that marketed them under their own labels.


Style Edit: Zegna’s new Hong Kong store at Harbour City embodies an Alpine-inspired retail vision

Meloni pushes for burka ban in Italy’s schools, cap on foreign students

Ending the nuclear arms race starts with cities doing their part

Why mainland Chinese despise the British – but Hongkongers don’t

Italy

Italian police raid luxury brands Bulgari and Chanel over exploitation of Chinese workers

Chanel logo is seen on the company’s store in Monte Carlo, Monaco, in December 2017. Photo: Reuters

A law enforcement officer is seen in a bedroom in a workshop where leather goods were being made in northern Italy. Photo: Italian Carabinieri via AP

Gucci, Prada, Versace face Italy probe over alleged Chinese labour exploitation

A Versace store in New York City. Photo: Reuters

A Gucci sign is seen outside a shop in Paris, France. Photo: Reuters

A Chinese immigrant gestures as police officers conduct a check at the Shen Wu textile factory in Prato, Italy, in 2013. Photo: Reuters/File

Italian police raid Amazon sites in probe involving Chinese goods

Amazon is under investigation in Italy for alleged smuggling of Chinese goods, sparking EU-wide probes and tax evasion concerns. Photo: Reuters

An Amazon logistics hub in Turin, Italy. Photo: Shutterstock 

Italy plans tax on low-value parcels, targeting China’s Shein and Temu

The Shein logo is seen during the Urban Ritual fashion show organised by Chinese company in Milan in October. Photo: AFP

Italy’s mafia joining forces, turning to Chinese ‘shadow banks’, report says

An image obtained in January 2024 shows banknotes seized in an operation against tax fraud, with the money laundered through a system of so-called Chinese shadow banks in Ancona, Italy. Photo: Guardia di Finanza Press Office via Reuters

Two girls view posters of the Sicilian Mafia’s top chief Bernardo Provenzano in Palermo in April 2005. Photo: AFP

News

World

Europe

Earlier operations have revealed numerous cases of poor work conditions in the supply chains for the country’s leading fashion houses


Earlier operations have revealed numerous cases of poor work conditions in the supply chains for the country’s leading fashion houses.


Italian police raid luxury brands Bulgari and Chanel over exploitation of Chinese workers

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Earlier operations have revealed numerous cases of poor work conditions in the supply chains for the country’s leading fashion houses

Earlier operations have revealed numerous cases of poor work conditions in the supply chains for the country’s leading fashion houses