Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence for Chiara Ferragni, who has more than 28 million followers on Instagram, following “pandorogate”.

It began after Ferragni promoted a limited-edition Christmas cake — known as a pandoro — to her followers as part of what appeared to be a charitable fundraising initiative for a nearby children’s hospital.

However, it later emerged that the hospital only received a single one-off payment of €50,000 prior to the cake’s launch in 2022, while Ferragni and her companies pocketed well over €1 million.

The scandal later grew to encompass limited-edition Easter eggs in aid of an autism charity, which were also promoted by Ferragni as part of the partnership with the Italian confectionery company Balocco.

Ferragni and her companies have paid at least €3.4 million in fines and donations since the scandal came to light, as well as returning the €1 million sponsorship fee and reimbursing customers.

A judge yesterday dismissed charges of aggravated fraud against Ferragni in relation to the scandal, CNN reports.

After the hearing, the 38-year-old said: “The nightmare is over. I am very happy to take control of my life and get my life back. It has been a very difficult two years.

“I had faith in justice, and justice has been done.”