Capital One Financial has argued that anti-money laundering review—not political bias—prompted its decision to close hundreds of bank accounts linked to the Trump Organization, according to a court filing reported by Reuters.
The disclosure, made in a filing on Friday, marks the first time a bank has formally linked anti-money laundering (AML) considerations to its decision to sever ties with US President Donald Trump’s family business.
Capital One is seeking to have the dismissed, challenging claims by the Trump Organization that it was illegally “debanked” because of its political views or affiliations.
According to the news outlet, Capital One said the account closures followed “months of analysis” by its anti-money laundering team and were carried out in accordance with the bank’s internal policies and federal regulatory guidance.
“Documents and Plaintiffs’ own allegations make clear that Capital One closed Plaintiffs’ accounts for anti-money laundering (AML) reasons,” the bank said in the filing, as quoted by Reuters.
Capital One has not accused the Trump Organization of engaging in illegal money laundering. Instead, Reuters reported that the bank argued the transaction patterns it identified fell within categories highlighted by federal banking guidance for enhanced scrutiny.
Trump Organization alleges political discrimination
The dispute stems from Capital One’s decision to notify the Trump Organization in March 2021 that it planned to close more than 300 Trump-affiliated bank accounts.
In March 2025, the Trump Organization and Eric Trump filed a in a federal court in Florida, alleging the closures were motivated by Capital One’s “woke” corporate beliefs and a desire to align with the political climate following the , Reuters reported.
Capital One calls allegations ‘misguided’
Reuters reported that the federal court in Miami has already dismissed two earlier versions of the complaint, while allowing the plaintiffs to amend and refile their claims.
In its latest filing, Capital One argued that the revised complaint “suffers from the same fundamental flaws” as the previous versions.
The bank also described the as “misguided,” saying they relied on selectively quoted documents taken out of context, according to Reuters.
“The transaction patterns identified by Capital One are among the types of activity flagged by federal banking guidance,” the filing stated, Reuters reported.
Case unfolds amid broader debanking debate
The lawsuit comes as the has increased pressure on major US banks over allegations that conservative customers have been unfairly denied banking services.
Reuters noted that President signed an executive order in August 2025 prohibiting discriminatory debanking practices.
The issue adds to a long-running history between and major financial institutions. In 2019, during his first term as president, Trump sued Capital One and Deutsche Bank in an attempt to stop them from providing his financial records to congressional investigators.
Reuters also noted that anti-money laundering specialists at Deutsche Bank had reportedly flagged certain Trump-related transactions in the past, although the bank denied those reports at the time.
(With inputs from Reuters)
