Capital One says 300 Trump Org accounts closed after internal anti-money laundering review

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Capital One says it closed more than 300 Trump Organization bank accounts after an internal anti-money laundering review—not because of politics, according to a new court filing seeking dismissal of the Trump Organization’s lawsuit.
The Trump Organization continues to argue it was “debanked” for political reasons following the January 6 Capitol riot, while Capital One insists its decision followed months of compliance analysis and regulatory guidance.
The case could become a major test of where legitimate anti-money laundering compliance ends—and politically motivated “debanking” begins.

CAPITAL ONE SAYS IT CLOSED 300 TRUMP ACCOUNTS OVER AML REVIEW—NOT POLITICS

The legal fight over whether the Trump Organization was “debanked” just took a dramatic turn.

Capital One says the accounts weren’t closed because Donald Trump was Donald Trump. They were closed because the bank’s anti-money laundering team flagged them during an internal compliance review.

The revelation came in a court filing Friday as Capital One asked a federal judge in Miami to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Trump Organization and Eric Trump, who have argued the bank terminated more than 300 accounts because of political hostility following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

According to the filing, the decision followed “months of analysis and a careful review” conducted by Capital One’s anti-money laundering specialists “in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance.”

The bank emphasized an important distinction. Capital One did not accuse the Trump Organization of engaging in illegal money laundering.

Instead, it argued that federal banking rules required it to evaluate account activity for anti-money laundering risks and that the transaction patterns it observed fit categories identified in federal compliance guidance. The filing marks the first time the bank has publicly identified anti-money laundering concerns as the basis for closing the accounts. That directly challenges the central claim made by the Trump Organization.

Eric Trump and the family business sued Capital One in 2025, alleging the company unlawfully “debanked” them because of its “woke” political beliefs and the political climate surrounding January 6. The lawsuit argues that the closures were ideological discrimination rather than a legitimate banking decision.

Capital One called those allegations “misguided.” The bank told the court that the plaintiffs relied on “cherry-picked quotations” while ignoring documents that, according to the bank, demonstrate the decision stemmed from compliance procedures—not politics.

The litigation has already encountered significant hurdles. A federal judge has twice dismissed earlier versions of the complaint while allowing the Trump Organization opportunities to amend its claims. Capital One argues the newest complaint still suffers from the same legal deficiencies. The dispute comes against the backdrop of a broader national debate over “debanking.”

President Trump has repeatedly accused major financial institutions of discriminating against conservatives and earlier issued an executive order directing regulators to examine whether banks were denying services based on political or religious beliefs rather than legitimate financial risk.

That broader debate has also spawned separate legal battles involving other major financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase. The court has not ruled on the merits of either side’s claims.

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