Capital One Financial has revealed that it closed more than 300 bank accounts linked to the Trump Organization in 2021 following an extensive review by its anti-money laundering (AML) team. The bank made this disclosure on July 31 while seeking to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Trump Organization challenging the account closures.
The Trump Organization and its affiliate, Trump’s 2016 Eric, filed the legal suit in March 2025 in a federal court in Florida, alleging that Capital One closed the accounts based on “woke” political motives and to capitalize on the political climate following the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The plaintiffs argued they faced illegal debanking, or denial of banking services, driven by ideological or political bias.
Capital One’s July 31 court filing disputes these claims, stating that it never accused the Trump Organization of illegal money laundering but that the account closures resulted from months of scrutiny under the bank’s AML policies and regulatory standards. The filing argues that “documents and plaintiffs’ own allegations make clear that Capital One closed plaintiffs’ accounts for anti-money laundering (AML) reasons,” not political ones. It further described the allegations of politically motivated actions as “misguided” and noted that the transaction patterns flagged were consistent with federal banking guidance for suspicious activity.
The federal court in Miami has dismissed two prior complaints filed by the Trump entities, allowing the plaintiffs the opportunity to submit amended versions. Capital One maintains that the latest complaint suffers from the same fundamental defects as the previous filings.
The dispute comes amid a broader tension between President Donald Trump’s administration and major financial institutions. Since the start of his second term, Trump has expressed concerns, shared by many conservatives, that banks are unfairly targeting right-leaning individuals and organizations. In August 2025, Trump issued an executive order prohibiting discriminatory debanking practices. Earlier this year, in January, he filed a separate lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase, alleging similar politically motivated denial of banking services.
The Trump Organization’s conflict with financial institutions dates back to Trump’s first term. In 2019, he sued Capital One and Deutsche Bank to block them from handing over his financial records to Congressional Democrats investigating him. Reports have surfaced that Deutsche Bank’s AML specialists flagged questionable transactions linked to Trump’s accounts, although the bank’s executive leadership reportedly did not act on those alerts—a claim Deutsche Bank has denied.
Neither the Trump Organization nor Capital One immediately responded to requests for comment following the recent court filing. The case continues to unfold in the context of heightened scrutiny over banks’ compliance with AML rules and the political accusations tied to financial services in a polarized environment.