Registration of information on final beneficiaries

On April 28, Law No. 361-IX came into force in Ukraine, establishing new rules for financial monitoring and enhanced control over suspicious financial transactions. The law is aimed at combating money laundering and implementing relevant EU directives and FATF recommendations.

One of the requirements regulated in the document is the mandatory submission of information about the beneficial owners to the regulatory authorities. Companies established after the entry into force of the Law must submit this information to a notary or state registrar at the stage of business registration. Previously operating firms should re-register their beneficiary information, and this should be done within three months after the entry into force of the acts approving the forms of applications and data on the ownership structure.

Is it mandatory to disclose beneficiaries? What impact will the innovations have on Ukrainian business? You can get answers to these and other similar questions by consulting with the lawyers of RegService.

The procedure for registering data on beneficial owners

Submitting information about the beneficiary is necessary to synchronize the information contained in the Unified Register and the databases of the State Financial Monitoring Service. It is important to note that the beneficiary may be not only a direct or indirect owner of more than 25% of the authorized capital, but also an individual who has a decisive influence on the company's operation.

Information about the final beneficiary, which is submitted to the state registrar, notary, includes

• direct information about the beneficiary;
• information on the ownership structure.

State-owned and municipally owned enterprises, condominiums, political parties, public organizations, lawyers' associations, and religious communities are legally exempt from providing information on beneficiaries.

Information about the beneficiary must be submitted annually, within 14 calendar days from the date of registration of the legal entity, in order to update the information. For example, if a company is registered on May 15, 2020, it must re-apply to the registrar by May 29, 2021.

Failure to notify (late notification) the regulatory authorities of the beneficiaries threatens the head or authorized person of a commercial organization with a fine of UAH 17 to 51 thousand.

The following documents are submitted to the state registrar:

1. an application in Form 6 (approved by Law No. 1716/5, effective from June 1, 2020);
2. a copy of the passport of the final beneficiary (the paper version is notarized);
3. information on the ownership structure;
4. an extract from a foreign register (if a non-resident company is a member of a legal entity) with a translation and apostille;
5. document on payment of the registration fee;
6. a power of attorney for a representative, if Form 6 is not signed by the head of the company.

It is not yet known what the document on the ownership structure looks like (the relevant regulatory act must be adopted by July 28, 2020). Nevertheless, it is advisable to start the procedure now, given that notarization and apostillization of documents may take some time.

Of course, you can download and fill out Form 6 on your own, but you will need qualified legal assistance to submit the information correctly. Specialists of RegService Law Firm will provide legal support in this matter. To order a service or get more information, leave a request in electronic form, call us or request a call back.

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