US President Donald Trump’s family business Trump Organization has been accused by Capital One of having its bank accounts closed following an internal anti-money laundering (AML) review, according to a court filing amid ongoing legal battle.In a court filing on Friday, the bank said the account closures were the result of “months of analysis and a careful review” conducted by its AML experts in line with internal policies and regulatory guidance and not politically motivated, as reported by Reuters.“Documents and Plaintiffs’ own allegations make clear that Capital One closed Plaintiffs’ accounts for anti-money laundering (‘AML’) reasons,” the filing said.The accounts were held by the Trump Organization, the privately owned business conglomerate that oversees Trump’s hotels, golf courses, real estate and other ventures. Large companies often operate hundreds of bank accounts across different entities and properties. US banks can close customer accounts after internal compliance and risk reviews if they determine the banking relationship no longer meets their anti-money laundering or regulatory standards.Capital One did not directly accuse the Trump Organization of engaging in illegal money laundering. Instead, it argued that the decision was based on compliance and risk assessment procedures, not political considerations.The filing marks the first time a bank has formally stated in court that anti-money laundering concerns were behind its decision to close the Trump Organization’s accounts.The bank is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the Trump Organization and Eric Trump in March 2025 in a Florida federal court. The lawsuit alleges that Capital One closed the accounts because of its “woke” beliefs and to align with the political climate following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.Capital One notified the Trump Organization in March 2021 that it would close more than 300 affiliated accounts.The federal court in Miami has already dismissed two versions of the lawsuit while allowing the plaintiffs to amend their complaint. In Friday’s filing, Capital One argued that the latest complaint “suffers from the same fundamental flaws” as the previous versions.The bank described the 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.“The transaction patterns identified by Capital One are among the types of activity flagged by federal banking guidance,” the filing said.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 barring discriminatory debanking and, earlier this year, filed a separate lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase on similar grounds.The Trump Organization and Eric Trump sued Capital One in March 2025, alleging the bank unlawfully closed more than 300 of their 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. They argued the closures amounted to discriminatory “debanking” and sought damages.
