(The Sun) - BRAD Pitt is suing his ex-wife Angelina Jolie for allegedly secretly selling the couple's £116million French estate and winery to a Russian oligarch.
The actress filed for divorce back in 2016 and the pair have been locked in a heated legal battle ever since.
TMZ reported that Brad is suing Angelina in the hopes of having the sale undone.
According to legal documents obtained by the outlet, the pair bought Chateau Miraval in Correns, France in 2008 while they were still married.
The actor claims to have invested a significant amount of money into the winery.
Angelina, however, put down 40 percent of the $28.4 million it cost to buy, according to the legal documents.
Per his filing, Brad feels he's responsible for the winery's success, noting that as of 2013 Angelina was not as heavily involved.
He also claims he and his estranged wife agreed not to sell their interest in the winery without discussing it first.
That, of course, was prior to their contentious split.
DIRTY DETAILS
According to TMZ's report, Angelina went to court in June 2021 about selling her share in the winery.
She claimed at the time that she and an unnamed person had reached an agreement regarding the sale.
Brad was aware of her desire to sell her shares, however, he claims he only agreed to vet buyers.
He claims he told Angelina that he would give the green light based on who showed interest.
In October 2021, according to his filing, he was surprised with the news that a company called Tenute del Mondo – a Stoli Group subsidiary – had purchased Angelina's interest in the winery.
He maintains that he was not asked, and did not consent, to the sale and accused his ex of intentionally keeping the information from him.
According to his legal filing, Brad believes the purchaser – a Russian oligarch by the name of Yuri Shefler – is making it difficult to run the winery.
As such, he's suing to have the sale undone and seeking damages.
A source told The Sun of the legal drama: "Unfortunately, this is another example of the same person disregarding her legal and ethical obligations.
"In doing so, she has violated the rights of the only person who poured money and sweat equity into the success of the business by purporting to sell both the business and family home to a third-party competitor.
"She is seeking a return on an investment she did not make and profits she did not earn."
THEIR AGREEMENT
In September 2021, court documents showed that the exes agreed to lift a “standard temporary restraining order” on their assets.
As a result of the agreement, the former pair were permitted to sell their possessions owned during their marriage, giving Angelina a chance to sell off her share of their French estate, Chateau Miraval.
While the duo may have come to one agreement, they struggled to agree on much else, with Brad filing a lawsuit against the award-winning actress.
The lawsuit alleged the Maleficent star, 46, was trying to sell her shares of the mansion without allowing Brad, 57, his "right of first refusal and profit," despite the "incredible amount of work, time and money" that he has claimed to put into it.
The property is reportedly owned by the company Quimicum, which is part owned by Brad via his company Mondo Bongo and by Angelina through her company Nouvel.
The documents stated: "It is worth mentioning that, for the last four years, Nouvel did not act in the best interest of Quimicum by systematically delaying the approval of the annual accounts and the renewal of the manager.
"We understand that behind this systematic obstruction, the real purpose of Nouvel and its shareholder [Jolie] is to sell its stake in Chateau Miraval SA in a way that would circumvent Mondo Bongo's right of first refusal.
"Taking, as a result, a capital gain raised thanks to Mondo Bongo's investment and to which Nouvel did not contribute."
THE SPLIT
The famous couple tied the knot in 2014, parting ways in 2016.
They have been battling it out in a nasty divorce and custody feud ever since.
Angelina and Brad share six kids: Maddox, 20, Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and Vivienne and Knox, 13.
The mom of six's lawyers previously accused the Seven actor of using his "celebrity" status to change their custody agreement.
Brad was awarded "joint custody" of their children back in May 2021.
By Caitlyn Hitt
17 Feb 2022
