Capital One says it shut down more than 300 bank accounts belonging to the Trump Organization in 2021 following a monthslong review by its anti-money laundering team, the bank revealed in a court filing released Friday. The disclosure marks the first time a major financial institution has formally tied money-laundering concerns to President Donald Trump’s family business.
The bank made the revelation in a motion filed in federal court in Miami asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that the Trump Organization, led by Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, brought against Capital One in March 2025. The Trump Organization alleges that Capital One closed the accounts for political reasons in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, claiming the bank wanted to distance itself from Trump.
Capital One gave notice in March 2021 of its plan to close more than 300 accounts tied to the Trump Organization and affiliated businesses, including a winery, a bottled-water company and a golf course developer. The accounts were ultimately closed in mid-2021 after the bank had held accounts for the Trump entities for more than a decade. The bank disputes the Trump Organization’s political motivation claims entirely, arguing that the closures resulted from careful financial crime compliance work.
“The closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by Capital One’s anti-money laundering team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance,” Capital One stated in the filing. The bank said its financial crimes team was staffed by employees with “decades of law enforcement experience.” Capital One also contends that the transaction patterns it identified are among the types of activity flagged by federal banking guidance.
Notably, Capital One had received a $390 million penalty from the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network roughly two months before it closed the Trump Organization’s accounts. The agency issued the penalty after Capital One admitted to failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering program. The violations occurred between 2008 and 2014, when millions of dollars in suspicious transactions went unreported, including proceeds connected to organized crime, tax evasion, and fraud.
The Trump Organization’s lawsuit claims Capital One wrongfully closed the accounts and seeks monetary damages. The Trump Organization did not respond to requests for comment about the bank’s latest filing. Capital One also did not provide additional comment beyond what was included in the court filing.
A federal judge in Miami previously dismissed two complaints filed by the Trump Organization, though the court gave the plaintiffs an opportunity to file amended complaints. The Trump Organization’s latest version was filed in July. Capital One is asking the court to dismiss the case entirely with prejudice, meaning the Trump Organization could not refile it again.
The bank argues in its filing that the Trump Organization’s allegations are based on “cherry-picked quotations unsupported by the full context” of documents. The Trump Organization contends that Capital One invented the anti-money laundering explanation after the fact to cover for a decision made for political reasons.
The filings also reveal that the Trump Organization and its affiliated entities were not given an opportunity to address any money-laundering concerns before their accounts were closed. It remains unclear whether subsequent financial institutions serving the Trump Organization have raised any money-laundering concerns, or what steps the organization may have taken in response to Capital One’s position.
The case reflects broader tensions over what is often called “debanking,” the practice of financial institutions closing accounts or denying services to customers. Since Trump took office for his second term in January 2026, his administration has put pressure on large banks over what it characterizes as politically motivated account closures. In August 2025, Trump signed an executive order barring what he described as discriminatory debanking practices.
The Trump Organization has also filed a separate $5 billion lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase, alleging similar conduct. Like Capital One, JPMorgan has denied wrongdoing and maintains that account decisions are governed by contractual rights, regulatory obligations and internal risk assessments. Both banks have argued that customer agreements explicitly allow them to close accounts for any reason.
Capital One emphasized in its filing that the bank “never publicized the termination decision nor its confidential internal process” and permitted the Trump Organization several months, with extensions granted, to find alternative banking services. The case is being heard in the Southern District of Florida by U.S. District Judge Roy Altman, whom President Trump appointed during his first term.