* Capital One says anti-money laundering review prompted

closure of more than 300 Trump-affiliated accounts

* Trump Organization and Eric Trump sued in March 2025,

alleging political debanking

* Miami federal court tossed two complaints but let

plaintiffs file amended versions

By Kenrick Cai

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Capital One Financial ( COF )

hit back on Friday against a lawsuit over its decision

to close the Trump Organization's bank accounts years ago,

stating that it did so after a review by anti-money laundering

experts.

The disclosure marks the first time a bank has formally tied

money laundering concerns to U.S. President Donald Trump's

family business. Capital One is seeking to dismiss the case by

casting doubt on claims of illegally debanking - or denying

services on religious or political grounds - the Trump

Organization.

The Trump Organization and Capital One did not immediately

respond to requests for comment.

Capital One has never accused the Trump Organization of

illegal money laundering. But Friday's filing argues that

"documents and Plaintiffs' own allegations make clear that

Capital One closed Plaintiffs' accounts for anti-money

laundering ("AML") reasons. 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."

Capital One gave notice of its plans to close more than 300

Trump-affiliated bank accounts in March 2021. The Trump

Organization and Eric Trump, the president's son, filed a

lawsuit in March 2025 in a Florida federal court, alleging the

accounts were closed because of Capital One's "woke" beliefs and

its desire to benefit from the political mood after the January

6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

'MISGUIDED' ALLEGATIONS: CAPITAL ONE

The federal court in Miami has tossed two complaints in the

Capital One case, but gave the plaintiffs opportunities each

time to submit an amended complaint. Capital One said that the

latest version, filed in July, "suffers from the same

fundamental flaws as their prior two pleadings."

Capital One said in Friday's filing that the Trump

Organization's allegations of political pretext were "misguided"

and "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.

Since the start of Trump's second term, his administration has

put pressure on some large banks, echoing conservative

complaints that the institutions are deliberately targeting the

political right.

Trump signed an executive order in August 2025 barring

discriminatory debanking. In January, Trump filed a suit against

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) on the same grounds, underscoring the

fraught policy environment Wall Street is navigating during the

president's second term.

In 2019, during his first term, Trump sued Capital One and

Deutsche Bank in an attempt to prevent them from sharing

financial records with Congress as part of a probe led by

Democratic lawmakers. Anti-money laundering professionals at

Deutsche Bank reportedly flagged a set of transactions, but

executives ignored them; Deutsche Bank denied the report at the

time.