Two other luxury brands are now under investigation by the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office. An emergency judicial investigation has been ordered for Dama Spa (owner of the Paul & Shark brand) and Alberto Aspesi Spa, as part of an inquiry into the alleged crime of illegal labor exploitation (caporalato). As reported by news agencies, among “those targeted by the investigation led by prosecutors Paolo Storari and Daniela Bartolucci are Francesco Umile Chiappetta, CEO of Alberto Aspesi Spa, andAndrea Dini (brother-in-law of Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana), who serves as managing director of Dama.”
Working conditions akin to modern-day slavery
According to the Ansa news agency, the companies are accused by the public prosecutor’s office of having adopted a “production model (resulting in savings on labor costs) and of having outsourced clothing production” without implementing “any organizational measures capable of ensuring that no serious cases of labor exploitation occur.” Working hours were reportedly “seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” with wages below the poverty line.
According to the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office, as reported by Radiocor, Aspesi and Dama allegedly “adopted a corporate policy that accepts the exploitation of workers as a means of production (leading to lower labor costs) in the deliberate absence of organizational models designed to prevent such situations of severe exploitation.” Specifically, according to the prosecutors’ reconstruction of events, the companies involved “constantly conducted audits and visits to suppliers where labor exploitation was taking place, but these inspections were aimed solely at verifying product quality. They remained completely oblivious to issues related to workplace safety, decent housing conditions, wages, and working hours—which clearly failed to meet minimum standards—without this having any impact on their relationships with these suppliers.”
Profit margins of up to 95%
During certain inspections at the premises of the supplier Gmax 365 Srl in Garbagnate Milanese, the following items were found, among others: invoices issued to Dama and Alberto Aspesi, the corresponding shipping documents, and purchase orders from Dama. These orders “reveal the production cost applied by Gmax 365 Srl for certain items, allowing for the calculation of profit margins ranging from 87% to 95%.” The Garbagnate Milanese garment factory changed its name, but not its address, between 2023 and 2025 following an inspection. According to the Ansa news agency, clothing manufacturing had been outsourced to this factory, which was able to bill up to 3 million euros in a single year.
The measure taken by prosecutors must now be approved by a preliminary investigation judge (GIP).
A glaring contradiction with recent legal protocols
As the Public Prosecutor’s Office points out, the charges brought against Dama and Alberto Aspesi Spa “are in flagrant contradiction with the memorandum of understanding, signed on May 26, 2025, at the Milan Prefecture with the participation of the most representative labor and employer associations at the national level, aimed at ensuring compliance with the law in the fashion production chain.” This agreement, whose core operational component is the creation of an IT platform to track supply chains—currently under development bythe Milan Polytechnic (Politecnico di Milano)—could likely be launched in April, according to information reported in January by Il Sole 24 Ore. The platform will make it possible to monitor the entire national luxury supply chain and collect data on production processes (documents related to labor law, taxation, social security, occupational health and safety, and applicable collective bargaining agreements), based on which alerts can be issued to combat labor exploitation.
Alberto Aspesi Spa's response
Alberto Aspesi Spa has announced that: “Regarding the judicial supervision order issued by the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office concerning relations with a supplier, Alberto Aspesi & C. Spa states that said supplier has always been paid amounts sufficient to ensure that the supplier’s employees receive wages that in no way constitute worker exploitation as defined in Article 603-bis of the Italian Criminal Code. The Company clarifies that, during visits to the supplier’s premises, no evidence was found to cast doubt on the compliance of the work environments with applicable regulations. Similarly, the Company has never been aware, in any way, of the supplier’s use of premises serving as dormitories or of the use of irregular or undocumented workers. Finally, the Company has instructed its attorneys to defend its position and rights, including vis-à-vis third parties, while immediately making itself available to any competent authority.”*
*Article updated on March 19 at 10 a.m.