01
Ownership thresholds
Identify owners above the applicable threshold (commonly 25%), and those who control the entity by other means.
Glossary · UBO
What is an Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)?
Finding the real human behind the company.
An Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) is the natural person who ultimately owns or controls a legal entity. Identifying UBOs is central to Know Your Business (KYB) and to preventing criminals from hiding behind corporate structures.
02
Layered structures
Trace ownership through holding companies, trusts, and cross-border entities to the natural persons behind them.
03
Verification & screening
Verify each UBO's identity (KYC) and screen them against sanctions, PEP, and adverse-media lists.
04
Ongoing accuracy
Keep UBO records current as ownership changes and registries are updated.
Definition
A UBO is the individual who ultimately owns or exercises control over a company, directly or indirectly — commonly defined as holding more than a set ownership threshold (often 25%) or otherwise controlling the entity. Identifying UBOs may require tracing through layered, multi-jurisdiction ownership structures.
Why UBOs matter
Anonymous ownership is how illicit funds and sanctioned parties slip through onboarding. Regulators require firms to look through corporate layers and identify, verify, and screen the humans who ultimately benefit — making UBO identification a cornerstone of modern AML and KYB.
How Pegalio helps
Collecting and verifying UBO data means multiple people, declarations, and documents per entity. Pegalio runs UBO collection as part of a KYB onboarding project: structured forms capture ownership declarations, the portal gathers each owner's documents, RBAC governs who reviews them, and the audit log evidences that every UBO was identified and screened. It connects to registry and screening providers to corroborate the ownership picture.
Frequently asked questions
What ownership percentage defines a UBO?
Thresholds vary by jurisdiction; 25% is common, but control can also be established without meeting the threshold.
Why is finding the UBO hard?
Ownership can be deliberately obscured through layered entities, nominees, and cross-border structures, requiring careful tracing.
Is UBO identification part of KYB?
Yes. KYB verifies the entity and then identifies, verifies, and screens its ultimate beneficial owners.
Do UBO registers exist?
Many jurisdictions maintain beneficial-ownership registers, though coverage, access, and accuracy vary.