The Alexander McQueen brand is the subject of a tax probe by Italian authorities, Kering announced on Monday. Kering and the company are confident that their operating mode is correct and are pursuing these discussions constructively, it said.

Italy’s financial police allege that Alexander McQueen failed to declare between 60 million euros and 70 million euros in taxable income between 2016 and 2022, leading Florence prosecutors to open an investigation.

To settle an investigation into Gucci’s tax payments related to its Italy sales between 2011 and 2017, the conglomerate paid the Italian Revenue Agency a total of 1.25 billion euros in 2019. Italian tax authorities claim Kering intentionally avoided Italian taxes by directly operating a Swiss subsidiary named Luxury Goods International to distribute Gucci products in Italy.

Through the payment of 186.7 million euros to the Italian Revenue Agency in 2022, it settled another tax dispute pertaining to Bottega Veneta.An additional large tax bill would come at a critical time for Kering, which has stepped up its cost-cutting measures to offset an expected 50 percent decline in operating profit.