Capital One disclosed in a recent court filing that it closed bank accounts belonging to former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2021. The bank said it had flagged the accounts for activity that exhibited characteristics of money‑laundering and therefore terminated them, a decision that was later cited in a lawsuit filed by one of Trump’s financial holding companies after he was inaugurated for his second term.
According to the South China Morning Post, the court filing appeared over the weekend and referenced a lawsuit that Trump’s holding company brought against Capital One shortly after his 2021 inauguration. Trump has alleged that the bank’s action was illegal and politically motivated, pointing to the period following the January 6, 2021 insurrection as a possible trigger for the bank’s decision to close the accounts.
The case illustrates the intersection of banking regulation and political pressure, raising questions about how banks monitor and act on potentially illicit financial activity when clients include high‑profile political figures.