Ongoing Monitoring
The continuous scrutiny of a customer relationship to keep due-diligence information current and detect activity that does not fit the customer's expected profile.
Definition
Ongoing monitoring is the requirement to keep watching a customer relationship after onboarding rather than treating due diligence as a one-time event. It has two strands: keeping identity and risk information up to date, and scrutinising transactions and behaviour to check they remain consistent with what the operator knows about the customer's profile, source of funds and expected activity. Where behaviour diverges, monitoring should trigger a review, a request for further information, escalation to the nominated officer, or a suspicious activity report. It is the mechanism that turns static onboarding checks into a live, risk-sensitive control.
Worked example
A player who deposited modest amounts for months suddenly funds and stakes far larger sums; ongoing monitoring flags the change, prompting the operator to review source of funds and reassess the account's risk rating.
Why it matters
For learners it corrects the common misconception that AML is only a sign-up check. For professionals, gaps in ongoing monitoring are repeatedly cited by regulators as a root cause of undetected harm and laundering.