Capital One Says It Closed Trump Organization Accounts Over Money Laundering Concerns
Al Jazeera Staff
Capital One has responded to a Trump Organization lawsuit over the closure of more than 300 accounts, saying the decision was based on anti-money laundering concerns after a thorough review. The bank is seeking dismissal of the case, denying allegations of political discrimination.
Capital One Financial has officially responded to a U.S. lawsuit concerning its decision to close more than 300 bank accounts of the Trump Organization in 2021. In a filing submitted to a federal court on Friday (September 12), the bank stated that the action was taken after its anti-money laundering (AML) team conducted a review in accordance with regulations.
According to Reuters, this marks the first time a bank has formally cited money laundering concerns related to the business dealings of former President Donald Trump's family. Capital One is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit by denying allegations of refusing services based on religious or political reasons.
In the filing, Capital One stated: “The plaintiffs’ documents and allegations clearly show that Capital One closed the accounts for anti-money laundering reasons. The account closures resulted from months of thorough analysis and review by Capital One’s AML team, in compliance with banking policies and regulatory guidance.”
In March 2021, Capital One announced plans to close over 300 accounts linked to Trump. By March 2025, the Trump Organization and Eric Trump, the former president's son, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Florida, alleging the accounts were closed due to political motives and a desire to profit from the political climate following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The court has dismissed the complaint twice in this case but allowed plaintiffs to amend their filing each time. Capital One contends that the latest complaint filed in July “still suffers from the same fundamental flaws as the previous two.”
Capital One emphasized that the lawsuit should be dismissed with prejudice and called the Trump Organization’s allegations of political motives “mistaken.” The bank argued that claims of “political discrimination” are based on “selective quotations lacking full context” from court documents.
“The transaction patterns that Capital One identified are among the types of activities outlined in federal banking guidance,” the filing stated.
In response to the argument that the Trump Organization should have been given an opportunity to explain suspicious transactions, Capital One said: “If any questions about transactions or explanations for account termination could reveal information subject to federal confidentiality obligations, federal law would prohibit such disclosure.”
Since the start of Trump’s second term, his administration has pressured several major banks, echoing conservative criticism that these institutions are deliberately targeting the right. Trump signed an executive order in August 2025 banning discriminatory denial of banking services. In January of the same year, he also filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase on similar grounds.
Previously, in 2019, during his first term, Trump sued Capital One and Deutsche Bank to prevent the two banks from sharing his financial records with the U.S. Congress during an investigation led by Democratic lawmakers. Media reports at the time said anti-money laundering experts at Deutsche Bank had warned about a series of transactions, but the bank's leadership ignored them; Deutsche Bank denied these reports.
