Angelina Jolie “tried to harm her former husband Brad Pitt” by selling her co-owned share of their vineyard to a Russian oligarch, new legal documents claim.
The sale is said to have helped launch a “hostile” takeover of the wine business that the actor “carefully built up” and forced him to partner with “a stranger with toxic associations and intentions”.
The former Hollywood power couple bought a majority stake in Chateau Miraval SA, a French company with a house and vineyard in the south of France, in 2008.
Lawyers on behalf of the fight club star said the company had grown into a “million dollar international success story” under his leadership, although Jolie “had contributed nothing”.
According to the lawsuit, Jolie sold her stake to a Luxembourg-based liquor manufacturer controlled by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler, without Pitt’s knowledge.
“Through the alleged sale, Jolie sought to harm Pitt,” according to documents filed last week and obtained by the PA news agency.
“Jolie knew and intended that Shefler and his affiliates would try to control the company Pitt had built and undermine Pitt’s investment in Miraval,” the documents said.
The Miraval estate is located in the village of Correns in southeastern France and was bought by the couple for around 25 million euros (20,875,500 pounds).
According to legal documents obtained by the PA news agency, Pitt contributed 60 percent to the purchase price, while Jolie paid the remaining 40 percent.
Through the alleged sale, Jolie attempted to harm Pitt.
Legal documents obtained by PA
Lawyers also said the wine business at the property continues to thrive and “although she benefited from Miraval’s success, Jolie was not involved in these efforts”.
She filed for divorce in 2016.
Jolie has reportedly informed Pitt of her decision to sell to Shefler in January 2021, saying she had made a “painful decision, with a heavy heart”.
Pitt attorneys have called for a jury trial.
