DEFINITION
Beneficial Owner
A beneficial owner is the real person who ultimately owns, controls or receives profits from a company or transaction, even if their name is not listed in official records as the legal owner.
Synonyms
Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)
Acronyms
BO
Share
Synonyms
Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)
Acronyms
BO
Examples
As part of KYB, the bank must identify and verify the beneficial owners who own or control more than 25% of the client company.
FAQ
What is the difference between legal owners and beneficial owners?
Legal owners are the direct holders of an asset, while beneficial owners ultimately control or benefit from the asset.
How far down an ownership chain must banks look to identify UBOs?
Regulations often require identifying natural persons with 25%+ ownership/control, necessitating looking through complex structures.
What challenges do complex ownership structures pose for UBO identification?
Complex, cross-border ownership webs can obscure ultimate beneficiaries, requiring significant unraveling work by compliance teams.
Book your demo today and see why leading financial institutions
worldwide trust Atfinity to drive their digital transformation.
Book your demo today and see why leading financial institutions worldwide trust Atfinity to drive their digital transformation.