Brad Pitt vineyard associate Yuri Shefler faces £2m compensation order
A London judge has ordered SPI Spirits owner Yuri Shefler to start proceedings in a £2 million compensation claim brought by his former investment chief, Vladislav Zabelin. The vodka mogul also has a share in Brad Pitt’s Château Miraval.
According to Law360, master Barbara Fontaine ruled in the High Court that Vladislav Zabelin must file a fresh application in his attempt to recover compensation from Yuri Shefler, owner of SPI Spirits (UK) Ltd. Zabelin, once group chief investment officer, was dismissed in 2020 after questioning pay cuts introduced during the Covid pandemic.
The employment tribunal in 2022 found he was a whistle-blower, awarding him £1.63 million, which has since accrued to more than £2 million with interest. However, Shefler has not paid, prompting Zabelin to attempt enforcement in the High Court. Fontaine ruled that his lawyers had used the wrong procedure and that he must begin again.
Whistleblowing over pandemic cuts
Zabelin, who earned £180,000 a year plus bonuses, told the tribunal that the company had imposed 30% pay cuts across its 2,000 staff without transparency. He alleged that the firm was “using the pandemic as an excuse” and that employees were “pressurising, scaring or intimidating” staff into compliance.
He further said Shefler told him bluntly, “I am firing you,” during a call to discuss the issue. The tribunal ruled “no procedures were followed whatsoever” and upheld his claim.
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A tycoon entangled with rosé wars
As reported by The Times, Shefler, who controls SPI Group and the Stolichnaya vodka brand, is also embroiled in Hollywood headlines through his 2021 purchase of Angelina Jolie’s 50% share in Château Miraval for $65 million. The move put him opposite Brad Pitt in the ongoing wrangle known as the “War of the Rosé”.
The vineyard, bought by Jolie and Pitt in 2008 for €25 million, has become a battleground over allegations of broken agreements and withheld offers. Pitt argues Jolie was obliged to give him first refusal; Jolie maintains he sought to make the sale conditional on her signing an expansive non-disclosure agreement.
Asset-stripping claims date from 2024
In August 2024, as reported by the drinks business, Jolie’s legal team alleged Pitt had been “stripping Château Miraval of its assets” by spending more than $1 million on a private swimming pool and refurbishing the estate’s historic recording studio. Pitt’s allies described the claims as “absurd”.
Court papers also showed Miraval generated profits exceeding €15 million in 2022, and Pitt continues to launch commercial ventures from the estate, including his skincare brand Beau Domaine, developed with oenological research into grape antioxidants.
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