- In 2021, Angelina Jolie sold her half of the vineyard to a man deemed an oligarch by the US State Department.
BRAD Pitt demands answers about who co-owns his French vineyard – after ex-wife Angelina Jolie’s shares ended up in the hands of a secret trust on the tax haven island of Jersey in the English Channel.
The Fight Club star, 60, was shocked when Jolie sold her half of their stunning Chateau Miraval estate to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler without his consent in 2021.
Now financial documents seen by the Mail reveal that the ultimate owner of the shares is a shadowy trust controlled by a company in which Shefler is not a shareholder.
The baffling business arrangements make it impossible to know who is pulling the strings, but friends of Hollywood star Pitt say he is determined to get to the bottom of the matter.
The Chateau Miraval estate, which produces an award-winning sparkling rosé, is at the center of a long-running lawsuit between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Pitt’s lawyers have accused Jolie of deliberately depriving him of his entire property and “forcing a stranger into (his) family home.”
The stranger in question is Russian businessman Yuri Shefler, pictured here
The row brings the toxic, long-running divorce saga between Pitt and Jolie to British shores for the first time.
The battle for the future of Chateau Miraval, known as the War of the Rosé, has so far been waged in courtrooms in France, Luxembourg and Los Angeles.
A source close to the actor said: “Brad wants Jersey to start giving answers. He should have the right to know who bought his company.
‘He has put his heart and soul into Chateau Miraval and feels like the rug is being pulled out from under him. He’s not sure who he’s doing business with.’
Chateau Miraval, in Provence, produces an award-winning rosé popular with celebrities. Pitt and Jolie jointly owned the 1,300-acre estate and even got married in the 17th-century farmhouse in August 2014.
After their bitter divorce in 2016, Jolie sold her stake in the company to Yuri Shefler’s Stoli Group. Pitt claimed she violated an agreement that they would give each other first refusal.
Last month the Mail revealed that Stoli had been stripped of a number of shares by a court in Luxembourg, making Pitt the majority shareholder.
Jersey structures are popular with individuals who want to disguise their business dealings and maintain control over their assets.
Sanctioned Russians, including former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, have used them before. In 2022, Jersey authorities seized £7 billion worth of Abramovich’s assets.
Shefler – who has not faced any sanctions – has insisted he is the beneficiary of the trust. But well-placed sources say there is no obvious commercial reason to use a private trust company to manage part of his empire that he could own in his own name.
A source said: ‘The private trust structure is sometimes used to conceal the identity of decision makers. Confidentiality rules in Jersey mean Brad will never know for sure who he is doing business with – who is actually pulling the strings.”