Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's 'War of the Rosés' reaches British shores: Fight Club star demands to know how co-ownership of his French vineyard fell into the hands of secretive trust on English Channel tax haven island

BRAD Pitt is demanding answers about who co-owns his French vineyard - after ex-wife Angelina Jolie's shares fell into the control of a secretive 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 without his agreement to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler in 2021.

Now financial papers seen by the Mail show the ultimate owner of the shares is a shadowy trust controlled by a company of which Shefler is not a shareholder.

The bewildering 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 it.

The Chateau Miraval estate, which produces an award-winning sparkling rosé, is at the center of a long-running court battle between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Pitt's lawyers have accused Jolie of deliberately depriving him of complete ownership and 'forcing a stranger into [his] family home'

The stranger in question is Russian businessman Yuri Shefler, shown here

The row brings the poisonous long-running divorce saga between Pitt and Jolie to British shores for the first time.

The battle over Chateau Miraval's future, 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 providing answers. He should have the right to know who has bought into his business.

'He has put his heart and soul into Chateau Miraval and feels the rug has been pulled out from under him. He does not know for sure who he is actually in business with.'

Chateau Miraval, in Provence, produces an award-winning rosé popular with celebrities. Pitt and Jolie owned the 1,300-acre estate jointly and even married in its 17th Century farmhouse in August 2014.

After their acrimonious separation in 2016, Jolie sold her stake in the business to Yuri Shefler's Stoli Group. Pitt claimed she had breached an agreement that they would give each other first refusal.

Last month, the Mail revealed that Stoli had been stripped of some 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 previously used them. In 2022, Jersey authorities seized £7billion worth of Abramovich's assets.

Shefler - who is not sanctioned - has insisted that 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 hold part of his empire which he could own in his own name.

A source said: 'The private trust structure is sometimes used to disguise the decision makers' identities. The confidentiality rules in Jersey mean Brad will never know for sure who he is in business with - who is actually pulling the strings.'