Understand who you are working with

Ultimate beneficial owners

Ultimate beneficial owners or UBOs are the individuals who own or control an organization. It isn’t always easy to discover who the UBO of a company is. There may be several UBOs; corporate structures can be complex; and ownership can be deliberately obscured to launder money or commit other types of financial crime.

It is important to know whom you are truly doing business with. Use Moody’s solutions to create transparency around beneficial ownership, control, and shareholder structures. Then you can make decisions with confidence about whom you work with.


  • Identify and verify beneficial owners
  • See connections between companies and individuals
  • Calculate integrated ownership percentages
  • Generate power scores to see who exerts control

With Moody’s you have access to extensive, accurate data on millions of companies across the world. Integrate our datasets with automated discovery tools to uncover beneficial ownership information – even across multiple ownership layers, international borders, and complex business networks.

Get the insight you need for UBO due diligence, KYC risk management, and AML compliance.




How Moody's can help

Solutions for UBO discovery


Orbis

Moody’s Orbis is the world’s most powerful comparable data resource on private companies, with information on more than +489 million entities worldwide. Orbis can be used to calculate power scores and integrated percentages for a full picture of beneficial ownership and control. 

Grid

Grid provides an extensive, curated, risk-relevant database for use in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing processes. Information about a person or organization is collated into a risk profile using continuous monitoring of thousands of data sources and coverage of adverse media, sanctions and watchlists, and politically exposed persons information.

Kompany

The Kompany KYC API is a single API that enables compliance CRM or CLM platforms to connect commercial registries, financial authorities, and tax offices in more than 200 countries. Compliance teams can access original documents and data on more than +115 million companies to better inform UBO compliance processes with data straight from the source.




Company ownership data

Moody's has ownership data on millions of companies across the world.

Moody's Analytics Orbis solution, as of May 2023



Essential guide to UBO definitions and regulations

Moody’s beneficial ownership whitepaper

It’s important for organizations to understand the criteria and definitions for beneficial ownership to protect their organization from risk. And to stay abreast of changes in regulation that relate to beneficial ownership and corporate transparency standards. 

With the help of Moody’s Industry Practice Leads, we have created a new paper that describes:
  • the standards and definitions for beneficial ownership
  • new beneficial ownership and corporate transparency rules
  • UBO differences across jurisdictions
  • how to access and use data needed for UBO discovery



Webinar

Beneficial ownership transparency: new developments and why they matter

Beneficial ownership transparency webinar

There have been seismic shifts in the rules and procedures governing beneficial ownership recently, and the situation continues to evolve. Listen to a review of what's new relating to beneficial ownership, corporate transparency, and its application when fighting financial crime.

In this webinar, Moody’s Industry Practice Lead, Ted Datta, guides analysis of the key differences in how the UK, US, and EU are implementing UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Ownership) standards, and how transparency will impact anti-financial crime efforts.



What would make Beneficial Ownership registers more effective in combatting financial crime?
Which "market participants" should be able to access EU Beneficial Ownership registers in support of AML-related activities?


Listen to the podcast

KYC Decoded


Podcast 1
The ABCs of the CTA

The US Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) aims to create a national registry of beneficial ownership information. But what exactly does this mean? How will it change the fight against financial crime in the US and beyond? What hurdles need to be overcome? What questions are still unanswered? And how can the public voice concerns?

In this episode of KYC Decoded, Alex Pillow is joined by lawyer, AML practitioner, thought-leader, and current founder and principal of RegTech Consulting, LLCJim Richards, as well as former practitioner and Moody’s KYC Industry Practice Lead, Jill DeWitt


Podcast 2
UBOs and why they matter

Understanding ultimate beneficial ownership of a company is not straightforward. Opaqueness begets a system where business structures are created legally, and yet are also used as a vehicle for furthering financial crimes like money laundering, human trafficking, and migrant smuggling. Host Alex Pillow dives into the topic of UBOs with author and investigative journalist, Oliver Bullough in this episode of KYC Decoded.





Further reading

UBO articles and videos

UBOs & the fight against money-laundering

How do ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) disclosure requirements differ across the world? How is an ultimate beneficial owner defined? What information, if any, needs be collected, and where does that data live? It’s time to take stock of the world of UBO definitions, disclosures, and data.

How to identify UBOs and why they matter

Unravelling complex company structures to identify ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) can be difficult, owing to organizational interconnections and opaque business structures. But it is an important step in protecting a firm from risk and complying with regulations. Compliance with AML rules means customer due diligence to ensure you know whom you’re dealing with.

How to uncover shell companies that use money laundering techniques

Using shell companies as a guise for illicit activity is one of multiple money laundering techniques. In this video, our Financial Crime Practice Lead for APAC and Middle East, Chua Choon Hong, talks through some of the common red flags to look for and the risks of dealing with shell companies.



Get in touch

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We would love to show you what Moody's KYC can do! Get a demo or alternatively, keep reading to discover more about how Moody's KYC can help you.