The 72-year-old disgraced producer - who is currently in jail for sex crimes and awaiting trial on further similar charges - has accused Bob Weinstein and David Glasser, the Weinstein Company's chief operating officer, tricking him into guaranteeing a $45 million loan to save the business in 2016 but instead syphoned funds from the company for their own personal use before it collapsed.
In March 2023, AI International Holdings agreed to dismiss the case as Harvey's jail term meant they would be unlikely to collect on any judgement, but after signing the stipulation of dismissal, the former Miramax chief's lawyers backtracked and asked to keep the case open in order to pursue a separate suit against executives at the Weinstein Company.
It was in a response to a long-dormant breach of contract lawsuit dating to November 2017 that was filed by Len Blavatnik’s AI International Holdings and accused the incarcerated movie mogul of failing to abide by a personal guarantee to repay the loan, a case that was put on hold when The Weinstein Company filed for bankruptcy in 2018.
His lawyer, Imran Ansari, said in a statement: "Harvey Weinstein was deceived by those closest to him and secured a $45m (£35.8m) dollar loan under the pretence of saving The Weinstein Company.
While Harvey personally guaranteed the loan, others within The Weinstein Company enriched themselves and strategically undermined him, leaving him 'holding the bag' of debt while 'lining their pockets' when the company was in crisis.".
