According to court filings reported by Reuters, Investing.com, Bloomberg, and Business Standard, Capital One has formally stated in court that it closed more than 300 affiliated accounts belonging to the Trump Organization due to anti-money laundering concerns. The bank notified the Trump Organization in March 2021 of its decision to close these accounts, which were held by the privately owned business conglomerate that oversees Trump's hotels, golf courses, real estate and other ventures. As reported by Business Standard, Trump had more than 300 bank accounts with Capital One before they were closed, with accounts for a variety of Trump-branded businesses ranging from golf courses to wineries. The Trump Organization had banked with Capital One for more than a decade before the accounts were closed. Large companies often operate hundreds of bank accounts across different entities and properties, making this closure significant for the Trump Organization's financial operations.
As reported by Reuters, Investing.com, Bloomberg, and Business Standard, Capital One stated in its court filing that the account closures resulted from 'months of analysis and a careful review' conducted by its anti-money laundering experts in line with internal policies and regulatory guidance. The bank emphasized that the decision was not politically motivated, directly contradicting allegations made by the Trump Organization. Capital One did not accuse the Trump Organization of illegal money laundering, but noted that transaction patterns identified during the review were among the types of activity flagged by federal banking guidance. The filing represents the first time a bank has formally linked anti-money laundering concerns to its decision to end services for President Trump's family business. According to Business Standard, the bank had no reason to make a political statement with the closure and emphasized that the move had everything to do with activity in the accounts being flagged by anti-money laundering experts with the bank.
According to Reuters, Investing.com, Bloomberg, and Business Standard, the Trump Organization and Eric Trump sued Capital One in March 2025 in a Florida federal court, alleging the bank unlawfully closed more than 300 accounts in 2021 because of its 'woke' beliefs and to align with the political climate following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The lawsuit seeks damages and argues the closures amounted to discriminatory 'debanking'. As reported by Business Standard, Trump alleges that Capital One illegally closed his accounts for political reasons, following the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol. The amended lawsuit filed last month includes a 10-page section titled 'January 6, 2021: The Political Trigger' that's entirely blacked out, making it impossible to see any evidence the Trump Organization may have obtained that allegedly ties the account closures to the attack on the Capitol. A less-redacted version of the complaint may be filed soon after both sides agree on what can become public. The federal court in Miami has already dismissed two versions of the lawsuit while allowing the plaintiffs to amend their complaint.
As reported by Reuters, Investing.com, Bloomberg, and Business Standard, Capital One is seeking dismissal of the lawsuit and argued in Friday's filing that the latest complaint 'suffers from the same fundamental flaws' as previous versions. The bank described allegations of political bias as 'misguided' and said they were 'based on cherry-picked quotations unsupported by the full context' of documents submitted to the court. Capital One noted that 'the transaction patterns identified by Capital One are among the types of activity flagged by federal banking guidance', supporting its compliance-based decision-making process. According to Business Standard, the bank said it 'never publicised the termination decision nor its confidential internal process giving rise to the closure' and 'permitted plaintiffs several months (and granted several extensions) to find new banking services, which they did'. The Trump Organization has said it believes the explanation related to anti-money laundering was used as a cover by Capital One to justify closing the accounts for political reasons.
According to Reuters, Investing.com, Bloomberg, and Business Standard, the dispute comes as the Trump administration has intensified scrutiny of alleged 'debanking' by major financial institutions. Trump signed an executive order in August 2025 titled 'Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans' directing federal bank regulators to terminate examinations of banks over who they were doing business with. The Trump administration has also subpoenaed records of the biggest banks as part of an investigation into alleged debanking. In January, the president filed a separate lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase also alleging discriminatory debanking, with that lawsuit seeking damages of USD 5 billion. JPMorgan has said it does not close accounts for political reasons, but closes accounts 'with or without cause' and also accounts that create 'legal or regulatory risk'. Conservatives have long alleged that banks debank them and their political allies, with the allegations becoming louder after Operation Choke Point, an initiative during the Obama Administration when regulators pressed banks to cut off financial services to the firearm industry, tobacco, and payday lenders. The dispute also comes amid broader tensions between the Trump administration and major banks, with Trump having sued Capital One and Deutsche Bank in 2019 during his first term to prevent them from sharing financial records with Congress as part of a Democratic-led investigation.
