Entering information about the ultimate beneficiaries of the company.
Beneficiary, is it?
Every person who has opened a company at least once knows that when registering with a notary or at the center for the provision of administrative services, you need to fill out a special form, which contains a section on beneficiaries. It is according to the legislation of every civilized country that people receive the final profit from the activities of the enterprise.
In practice, it looks like this:
- A person takes money from an investor to start his own business;
- The company is registered (the founder and the beneficiary are the individual to whom the money was lent);
- A bank account is opened and an investment in the form of authorized capital is placed on it;
- Active entrepreneurial activity is conducted and profit is accumulated;
- After paying taxes and fees, the capital is withdrawn to the personal account of the founder, and he, in turn, is obliged to give part of the income to the investor, according to a previously concluded agreement.
Before the 2014 reform, in Ukraine, it was not necessary to display the ultimate beneficiary in the statutory documents. But after the change in legislation in terms of corporate law, all businessmen were obliged to indicate these people. But even then they were not indicated, but simply duplicated the data of the founder.
Who brings beneficiaries to the USR?
This action completely falls on the shoulders of the director (head) of the company. It is he who is obliged to provide the Ministry of Justice with all the necessary data on individuals or legal entities who, directly or indirectly, profit from this or that enterprise. Usually, the organization of this issue from start to finish is handled by the legal department or a separate company.
The procedure is as follows:
- The legal adviser prepares the necessary package of documents and sends it by e-mail to the notary;
- At the appointed time with the director of the company comes to the notary, from whom the head of the company signs the papers. If there is no certified copy of the founder’s passport, then the latter must also be present;
- The field of action through the unified state register of enterprises of Ukraine, information appears on the website of the Ministry of Justice. This usually happens the next day.
Important! When registering this operation, documents, in particular, a new Statement is not issued. It is printed only if other changes were made: names, directors, legal addresses, types of economic activities, contact details.
Why enter information about the beneficiaries in the USR?
In July 2021, the Parliament of Ukraine amended the law on combating money laundering obtained by illegal means. Simply put, this law is aimed at combating the financing of terrorism, both in our country and throughout the civilized world.
There is a practice of registering enterprises on dummies, the so-called denominations, through which a certain amount of money was deposited into the company’s bank account in the form of authorized capital. As you know, this money is practically not subject to financial monitoring. It is believed that the founder contributed this amount from his personal pocket and this money has already been checked long ago and all taxes have been paid from it. But often, this was not the case. The capital of the company was formed from unverified funds received from unknown persons. And in the course of conducting financial and economic activities, the profit received was sent to an unknown, so-called investor. In principle, if these are not terrorists, then everything is fine, on the one hand. But even if it turned out that the head of the enterprise had transferred the money to an illegal organization, it was difficult to bring him to justice.
In addition to all the above, the state thus wants to protect itself from constant accusations from the international community. Because firms of this kind can receive various kinds of subsidies, privileges or VAT refunds from ministries, and this already makes officials indirect accomplices.
What documents are needed to enter beneficiaries into the USR?
First, in order to carry out this action through the Ministry of Justice, it is recommended to contact an experienced law firm. This can save you a lot of time and money.
The list of papers that are required to enter information on the ultimate beneficiaries of the company into the USR:
- Card of the established form with a note on entering additional information about the company;
- Notarized copy of the founder’s passport;
- Scheme of an arbitrary form with an indication of the ultimate beneficiary and how the money flows to him, in what percentage with other investors.
If this action is carried out by a representative of the head of the company, then an additional notarial power of attorney will be required. Important! We advise you not to delay the entry of the ultimate beneficiaries into the USR, because the Ukrainian parliament obliged all businessmen to do this by July 2022. Failure to comply with the threat of large penalties!