LONDON: “Maleficent” megastar Angelina Jolie was accused by her former beau Brad Pitt of underlying ill will with the intent to “inflict harm” on him by selling her 50 percent stake in their French vineyard to a Russian oligarch.
“Jolie sought to inflict harm on Pitt” with the sale, a complaint seen by AFP read, and described Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler as “a stranger with poisonous associations and intentions.”
The allegations come as the latest barbs in the “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” actors’ bitter divorce of 2016, with Pitt filing a lawsuit over the sale of the vineyard, named Chateau Miraval, claiming its ties to the oligarch will harm its reputation.
Pitt’s filings state that Shefler “maintains personal and professional relationships with individuals in Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.”
Russia-born Shefler is the owner of the Stoli Group drinks conglomerate that is based in Latvia — and has been an outspoken critic of the Russian president.
Pitt’s latest filing said: “Despite Shefler’s desperate attempt to disassociate himself from the Putin regime, the Stoli brand is now a massive international liability.”
It added: “Stoli vodka is synonymous with Russia, as the countless images of consumers pouring Stoli vodka down the drain make clear.
“Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Miraval’s insurer has sought assurances that Shefler is not aligned with Putin and that affiliation with Stoli would not create commercial risk,” the filing said.
