Brad Pitt accused of ‘looting’ winery he shared with Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in 2016. Photo: TNS

A legal dispute involving Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie continues to intensify, as new court documents detail Pitt’s alleged misconduct regarding a French estate and winery which the actors previously co-owned.

Jolie’s former investment company Nouvel has accused Pitt and “co-conspirators” of attempting to maintain control over Chateau Miraval by depleting its assets through “stripping” and “looting,” according to a recent filing obtained by CNN.

The documents, filed Monday (July 10), show that Nouvel is now seeking at least US$350mil (RM1.6bil) in damages.

“Pitt wasted the company’s assets, spending millions on vanity projects, including more than US$1mil (RM4.6mil) on swimming pool renovations, building and rebuilding a staircase four times, and spending millions to restore a recording studio,” the document reads.

Nouvel’s attorneys argue that Pitt’s “misconduct” escalated in 2021, after Jolie decided to sell the investment company to an organisation known as Stoli Group, owned by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler.

“Incensed that Jolie sold Nouvel to Stoli rather than him, Pitt has acted like a petulant child, refusing to treat Nouvel as an equal partner in the business,” the filing continued.

Pitt initially filed a lawsuit in February 2022, contesting Jolie’s sale of the estate and winery, claiming that it violated their agreement to sell only in the case that they both consented.

Jolie responded with a countersuit, asserting that no such agreement existed and that she sold her stake in the winery to achieve “financial independence” from Pitt and find closure for herself and their children following their divorce.

Pitt’s attorney’s characterised Jolie’s sale of her stake in Miraval as “vindictive” after an “adverse custody ruling,” according to a court filing last month.

Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016, and also filed court documents claiming the actor physically abused her during a plane ride they took that same year.

While the couple was declared legally single in 2019, a finalised shared custody arrangement for their children is still pending. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service