An AML lookback is predominantly meant to uncover past suspicious activity and flaws within the financial institution’s monitoring systems.
It may stem directly from the institution itself following an internal audit or may be ordered by a regulatory agency after a control.
It’s often viewed as a burdensome, and somewhat punitive exercise for the financial institution for its costly and enormous time-consuming nature.
Regulators will generally ask financial institutions to employ an independent third-party that can carry out the lookback for them.