Capital One Financial stated in a court filing Friday that it closed accounts belonging to the Trump Organization due to concerns identified by anti-money laundering experts. This disclosure marks the first time a bank has formally linked money laundering concerns to the business of former President Donald Trump.
The bank is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Trump Organization and Eric Trump, which alleges that Capital One denied services based on religious or political grounds. Capital One argues that the lawsuit’s claims of illegal debanking are unfounded.
Capital One maintains that it never accused the Trump Organization of illegal money laundering. However, the filing asserts that the account closures were the result of a months-long analysis by its anti-money laundering team, conducted in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance. The bank noted that the transaction patterns identified are consistent with activities flagged by federal banking guidelines.
In March 2021, Capital One provided notice of its intent to close over 300 Trump-affiliated bank accounts. The Trump Organization and Eric Trump subsequently filed a lawsuit in March 2025 in a Florida federal court. They alleged that Capital One acted due to its “woke” beliefs and a desire to capitalize on the political climate following the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.
A federal court in Miami has dismissed two previous complaints in the case, but allowed the plaintiffs to amend their filings. Capital One contended that the latest version, submitted in July, shares the same fundamental issues as the prior complaints. The bank described the Trump Organization's allegations of political pretext as “misguided” and based on selectively chosen statements that omit full context.
This situation unfolds against a backdrop of increased scrutiny on banks' practices. Since the beginning of Trump’s second term, his administration has exerted pressure on some large financial institutions, responding to conservative assertions that banks are unfairly targeting the political right. In August 2025, Trump signed an executive order prohibiting discriminatory debanking. Earlier in January, he initiated a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase on similar grounds.
During his first term in 2019, Trump had previously sued Capital One and Deutsche Bank in an effort to block them from sharing financial records with Congress during an investigation led by Democratic lawmakers. Reports at the time indicated that anti-money laundering professionals at Deutsche Bank had flagged certain transactions, but these concerns were reportedly disregarded by executives, a claim Deutsche Bank denied at the time.