Capital One links Trump Organization account closures to anti-money laundering probe

Capital One cites AML (anti-money laundering) probe in defense of Trump organization account closures.

The Trump Organization and Eric Trump previously filed a high-profile lawsuit against Capital One, accusing the bank of "debanking" them for political and social reasons following the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

As reported by Reuters, Capital One Financial hit back on Friday against the lawsuit over its decision to close at least 300 bank accounts linked to Trump's organization, maintaining its statement that the decision was strictly driven by internal risk compliance and AML protocols.

The major American banking firm has strongly denied any political motivation behind the closures, asserting that the actions resulted from standard regulatory risk assessments and compliance reviews rather than ideological bias.

The disclosure marks the first time Capital One has publicly linked the account closures involving Donald Trump’s family business to anti-money laundering concerns. 

However, the bank has not accused the Trump Organization of engaging in illegal money laundering.

In its filing seeking dismissal of the case, Capital One argued that the plaintiffs’ own allegations and documents show the accounts were closed for AML-related reasons. The bank said the decision followed “months of analysis” and a review by its AML team in accordance with internal policies and regulatory guidance.