Brad Pitt Is Accused of Misusing Winery as His 'Personal Piggy Bank' in New Countersuit

Brad Pitt's legal battle over the French winery he once shared with ex Angelina Jolie now has a new layer.

On May 13, Tenute del Mondo, the company that Jolie, 48, sold her company Nouvel and shares to, countersued Pitt, 60, and his company Mondo Bongo for €20 million in damages related to Pitt's control over the Château Miraval winery in Correns, France.

In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Tenute claimed Pitt caused funds and assets from Château Miraval "to be spent on his personal expenses and to be diverted to his other business ventures rather than be paid out as dividends and loan repayments."

The documents allege that Pitt "caused millions of its funds to be spent on projects that benefit him personally, including more than $1 million on renovations for a swimming pool that only he uses."

The countersuit additionally claims that Pitt diverted Château Miraval's assets to multiple side businesses "by funding them with Château Miraval’s money and/or allowing them to use Château Miraval’s image, premises and assets for zero or below market compensation."

A rep for Pitt did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

A source familiar with the litigation tells PEOPLE the allegation that Pitt stole from the winery is "absurd," adding that the actor "built Miraval, and his connection to it is a key reason for its success." The source says, "It is Stoli that is trying to take what it did not build and improperly glom onto Mr. Pitt’s well-earned fame."

"Pitt and Mondo Bongo have turned Château Miraval into their personal piggy bank," claims the countersuit. "They have entered into a series of transactions using Château Miraval’s funds that have deprived Tenute of the profits and loan repayments to which it is entitled."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

The legal back-and-forth between Pitt's company and Tenute stems from an initial lawsuit Pitt filed in 2022 alleging that Jolie's 2021 sale of her stake in the winery to Tenute and its parent company, Stoli Group, went against an agreement they'd made about not selling without getting approval from the other.

Jolie's legal team has said she attempted to sell her stake to Pitt but he insisted on her signing an extensive NDA as part of the deal, which she refused to do. His side has said it was a standard business NDA, and Jolie's sale to Stoli Group "jeopardizes the reputation of the business that Pitt so carefully built."

Tenute's new counter-claim alleges Pitt and his company are "refusing to allow Jolie, Nouvel and, now, Tenute to participate in the operations of Château Miraval" and have not supplied those groups with information regarding the winery's operations and finances.

Tenute is demanding a jury trial for all damages and alleges that Pitt and Mondo Bongo have never paid back €20 million in loans originally made by Jolie to support the winery.