Brad Pitt has launched a scathing attack on Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler as he tries to fight the tycoon’s purchase of Angelina Jolie’s half of the couple’s Chateau Miravel winery.
Pitt, 60, is reportedly close to finalizing his divorce from Jolie, 48, even though the couple has been separated for years. In 2021, Jolie sold half of her French vineyard to Shefler for $64 million under the name Nouvel.
Since then, the Fight Club star has been fighting for the sale of properties and businesses located in the southeast of France.
The actor said that when he found out about the sale he was “finally threatened” if he did not cooperate with Stoli vodka billionaire Shefler at the winery. Sun.
Pitt goes on to allege that Shefler “secretly” bought the business and publicly announced a “partnership” with the Oscar winner.
Chateau Miraval is a symbol of happier times in a couple’s relationship. They stayed on the sprawling 17th-century estate when she gave birth to her twins in nearby Monaco in 2008, launched a successful wine business from her rich vineyards and married there in 2014.
“Shefler personally took steps to encourage his alleged association with Pitt after the transaction was closed, repeatedly writing to Pitt to intimidate him into accepting,” The Sun reports, citing documents.
Despite being separated for eight years, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are close to finalizing their divorce
Pitt says he was surprised when Jolie sold her share of Chateau Miraval, a 35-room estate and famous vineyard in the south of France that Pitt and Jolie bought for $60 million in 2011. The 1,000-acre property, now valued at $164 million – is where the couple married in 2014
Russian businessman Yuri Shefler has been designated an “oligarch” by the Treasury department
‘Since acquiring Nouvel, Shefler has suggested a meeting between him and Pitt to “discuss the path forward”… At times, Shefler expressed his fervent desire to work with Pitt.’
“On other occasions, he threatened Pitt based on trumped-up allegations of mismanagement at Miraval,” according to the documents, which were filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in February, according to The Sun.
Pitt says he had an agreement with Jolie that gave him “first refusal” if she decided to sell.
The couple had a “mutual and binding commitment” to the $160 million Chateau Miraval business and agreed not to sell it without the other’s permission. According to Vanity Fair, Jolie says “no such agreement ever existed.”
Pitt discovered that his ex-wife had ‘secretly’ sold her 50 percent stake when a 2021 press release announced that he had new business partners, according to the actor’s lawyers.
The buyer was part of a ‘Russian-affiliated’ vodka conglomerate headed by Shefler, who would use his new relationship with the A-lister to enhance and improve his reputation, court papers alleged.
‘For Jolie, the sale was a business transaction that she had every right to make. “In an effort to preserve her own mental health and well-being, she searched and found what she believed would be a good business partner for Pitt,” a source told Vanity Fair.
While Pitt saw the sale as a ‘betrayal’.
Pitt alleges Jolie’s sale to ‘Russian oligarch’ could tarnish reputation of his prized rosé
“It’s no coincidence that she sold her stake in Miraval to an adversary party, and part of the family home to a stranger, right after a judge granted a big victory: 50-50 custody,” a source close to her told Vanity. to Pitt. Fair.
The star’s legal team alleges that Shefler is simply trying to cash in on Pitt’s fame.
‘He apologized for “taking Pitt by surprise by entering his Miraval Empire” and asked Pitt to “trust and trust me” as his new “partner.”
“But,” Shefler warned, if Pitt did not give in to his wishes, Shefler “would protect his interests and would not hesitate to see that process through to the end.”
“And he has made good on that threat: Since the transaction, Shefler has leveraged Nouvel (the California LLC he now controls) to sue Pitt and attempt a hostile takeover of Château Miraval,” the documents continue.
In February, a court in Luxembourg (where Chateau Miraval’s holding company is based) stripped Nouvel of the portion of shares donated by Pitt in 2013, handing control of them to a court-appointed receiver.
Pitt had argued that they were given to her with the understanding that she would not sell them.
Judge Carole Kerschen ruled that it was necessary to end the “decision blockade” and save the company. A “substantive hearing” to be held in about two years is likely to decide whether Pitt regains full control of the donated shares.
By selling it to Shefler, Jolie linked Chateau Miraval to Russia and Vladimir Putin, harming the brand perhaps irreparably, Pitt alleges.
In a countersuit, Jolie accused Pitt of forcing her to sell her company, Mondo Bongo, and spreading lies about Shefler’s connections and dealings with the Kremlin.
Pitt was further accused of concealing assets and using wine profits on a swimming pool and an ornate staircase that was rebuilt several times.
An aerial view taken on May 31, 2008 in Le Val, southeastern France, shows Chateau Miraval.
“The only thing Jolie’s countersuit gets right is that she and Pitt purchased Château Miraval as a ‘loving home for their six children,’ Pitt’s lawyers protested in documents filed in 2022.
‘As set forth in Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Complaint, Pitt and Jolie had a mutual and binding commitment, reflected in their conduct and representations to each other over time, that they would keep Miraval together and, if the time came, they would sell their interests separately only with the consent of the other.
The filing said Pitt trusted Jolie and therefore “devoted his time and resources to renovating the property and building a highly successful wine business.”
“Jolie, although she supported Pitt’s efforts on behalf of the family, did not do any of the work necessary for Miraval’s success,” the document continues.
‘Instead, he allowed Pitt to invest money and sweat capital into the business relying on his promise to keep Miraval together, as well as the contractual rights his Nouvel holding company owed him. At the time of her separation, Pitt’s investment exceeded Jolie’s by almost $50 million.
The legal battle apparently continues to this day, with French authorities investigating the business, VF reports.
The Vanity Fair article ends by noting that since September 2016, no one from the Pitt or Jolie families has returned to stay at the property.