Capital One says Trump accounts were closed after money laundering flags

Newyork,UPDATED: Aug 4, 2026 00:20 IST

Capital One has told a court that it closed bank accounts linked to US President Donald Trump in 2021 after flagging financial activity with characteristics of money laundering. The disclosure came in a court filing over the weekend as the bank sought dismissal of a lawsuit brought by one of Trump’s financial holding companies.

Trump has alleged that Capital One shut his accounts for political reasons after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. In response, the bank said the decision followed an internal review and was not politically motivated. The case is part of a wider set of claims by Trump, who has also sued JPMorgan Chase over similar allegations.

In its filing, Capital One said, “The closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by Capital One’s AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance.” AML refers to anti-money laundering checks. The bank said it had no reason to make a political statement by closing the accounts and that the move was entirely linked to activity flagged by its anti-money laundering experts.

Trump has sued Capital One and JPMorgan Chase for allegedly “debanking” him after he left office in 2021. Debanking refers to banks shutting customer accounts because they believe the accounts pose financial, legal or reputational risks. Both banks have denied ending ties with Trump, his sons and related businesses for political reasons. The lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase is seeking damages of USD 5 billion. JPMorgan has said it does not close accounts for political reasons, but shuts accounts “with or without cause” and also those that create “legal or regulatory risk”.

In July, after the original lawsuit had remained dormant for months, lawyers for Trump filed an amended complaint alleging that Capital One had debanked him for political reasons. The bank rejected the new claims, saying the complaint rests on “new theories are based on cherry-picked quotations”. On Monday, Trump’s legal team dismissed that argument but did not address the bank’s internal findings. A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said, “Capital One, along with other major banks, de-banked President Trump, his family, and his businesses for blatantly political reasons. President Trump’s powerful lawsuit holds Capital One accountable for its disgraceful conduct, and we look forward to seeing this matter through to a just and proper conclusion.”

The dispute comes against the backdrop of long-running complaints by conservatives that banks have cut off them and their political allies. Those claims grew after Operation Choke Point during the Obama administration, when regulators pushed banks to stop providing services to sectors including firearms, tobacco and payday lending. The cryptocurrency industry also said it faced debanking during the Biden administration. Trump later signed an executive order in August 2025 titled “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans”, directing federal bank regulators to end examinations of banks over who they were doing business with. His administration has also subpoenaed records from the biggest banks as part of an investigation into alleged debanking.

According to the court filing, Trump had more than 300 accounts with Capital One before they were closed. The accounts were linked to a range of Trump-branded businesses, from a golf course to a winery, and he had banked with Capital One for more than a decade. The bank said it never publicised the decision, treated the process as confidential and gave the plaintiffs several months, along with multiple extensions, to find other banking services, which they did. The filing and the competing claims now form the centre of the legal battle over why the accounts were shut.

With PTI Inputs

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