Verification of the beneficial owner helps Ukrainian companies establish who actually controls a foreign partner and reduce sanctions and reputational risks.
Before concluding an international transaction, it is not enough for a Ukrainian business to check only the name, address, and registration number of a foreign counterparty. A company may be part of a large corporate group, controlled through several legal entities, or have its ultimate owner in another jurisdiction.
Identifying the ultimate beneficial owner, or UBO, makes it possible to understand who actually controls the company and receives economic benefits from its activities. This is important for banking compliance, international payments, investment transactions, exports, imports, and cooperation with large corporate customers.
The formal owner indicated in the register is not always the final link in the structure. Between the operating company and an individual, there may be holding companies, foundations, trusts, nominee owners, or enterprises registered in several countries.
Dun & Bradstreet uses corporate relationships and ownership information to build company structures, identify parent companies and subsidiaries, and determine beneficial owners. Corporate ownership information can be used for KYC checks, sanctions screening, and third-party risk assessment.
“A company’s name and country of registration do not always provide a complete picture of who controls the business. Before a significant transaction, it is necessary to see the entire corporate structure — from the local legal entity to the parent company and the ultimate owners,” emphasized Maksym Urakin, Director of Development and Marketing at Interfax-Ukraine, Head of the D&B-Interfax-Ukraine business unit, PhD in Economics.
According to him, particular attention should be paid to the ownership structure in cases where a counterparty has recently changed shareholders, is registered in a jurisdiction where access to corporate registers is complicated, or belongs to a group with a large number of related legal entities.
Verification of the beneficial owner helps answer several practical questions. A Ukrainian company needs to understand who controls its partner, whether this owner is connected with sanctioned persons, whether the declared structure corresponds to the actual business activities, and whether reputational or legal risks are hidden behind it.
At the same time, the mere fact of a complex corporate structure does not indicate a violation. International groups often have dozens or hundreds of enterprises in different countries. Risk arises when the structure remains opaque, contradicts the documents provided, or does not make it possible to establish actual control.
Ownership should preferably be checked not only before the first transaction. A change of shareholders, parent company, or ultimate beneficial owner may affect sanctions status, creditworthiness, and the ability to continue making payments through international banks.
Dun & Bradstreet is an international provider of business data and analytical solutions whose history began in 1841. The company provides tools for identifying legal entities, analyzing corporate relationships, identifying beneficial owners, checking counterparties, and conducting compliance procedures.
The official representative of Dun & Bradstreet in Ukraine is the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency. The D&B-Interfax-Ukraine division helps Ukrainian businesses obtain information about foreign companies, their owners, executives, and corporate relationships. Interfax-Ukraine has been operating since 1992 and produces more than 50 information products in Ukrainian, English, German, and Russian.
COMPANY VERIFICATION, COMPLIANCE, D&B, ULTIMATE BENEFICIAL OWNER
