Capital One cites anti-money laundering concerns in Trump Organization case

What the report says

Capital One Financial is pushing back against a US lawsuit brought by the Trump Organization and Eric Trump over the bank’s decision to close more than 300 Trump-affiliated accounts in 2021. In a filing made on Friday, the lender said the shutdown followed a months-long review by its anti-money-laundering team and was carried out under bank policy and regulatory guidance, according to the court documents cited by Al Jazeera and Reuters.

The dispute is being heard in a federal court in Florida, where the plaintiffs filed their case in March 2025. They have argued that the closures were politically motivated and linked to the period after the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Capital One says those claims are unfounded and has asked the court to dismiss the case permanently. The bank also said the plaintiffs’ latest amended complaint repeats the same weaknesses the court identified in earlier versions.

Al Jazeera reported that this is the first time a bank has formally linked concerns about money laundering to Trump’s family business in a public court filing, though Capital One has not accused the Trump Organization of illegal activity. The case sits within a wider political debate over so-called “debanking,” with Trump’s administration and allies criticizing banks for alleged discrimination, while financial firms face strict confidentiality and anti-money-laundering rules.