Explore How to Verify a Company in Ukraine

Earlier in 2023, the National Bank of Ukraine took control of Sense Bank, previously known as Alfa-Bank Ukraine, due to its relation with Russian shareholders. 

In essence, the step taken by the NBU was a straightforward implementation of Board Resolution No. 26 (2023), which requires financial institutions to develop links between business clients and the states involved in aggression against Ukraine. 

Compliance teams may draw the following lesson from the situation in Ukraine: having a decent corporate name and registration is no guarantee for a company in Ukraine. If there are vague or hidden ownership links to the entity, a rebrand won’t save it from troubles.

There is also a remarkable feature of Ukraine that is important for KYB. The nation became the first one to establish an open beneficial ownership register, as per the Open Ownership website, in 2015.

However, the OECD analysis and the Open Government Partnership evaluation have shown that there has always been an inconsistency in the accuracy of data and it’s updation, with no mechanism for data verification. 

They suggested that such data from the register cannot be relied upon for any compliance decision-making purpose.

This blog will guide you through the formal procedure for checking Ukrainian company registration documents, the verification issues compliance teams encounter in practice, and the due diligence that should be done prior to onboarding. 

How to Verify if a Company is Registered in Ukraine

Any Ukrainian company registration check begins with the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs, and Public Organizations (USR), which is kept by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. 

It is the official state Ukrainian business registry for all legal entities that operate in the country. The information therein can be obtained free of charge via the Ministry’s official website, as the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine has confirmed.

By a Ukrainian corporate search, you are able to access: 

• Full legal name and organizational form
• Legal status: active, suspended, in liquidation, or dissolved
• EDRPOU code (the unique eight-digit identifier assigned to every Ukrainian legal entity)
• Registered address and date of incorporation
• Registered business activity types
• Declared Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) information

“Ukraine maintains a Beneficial Ownership Register, part of the USR, that requires legal entities to register their UBOs.”

Thus, access to USR open data was reinstated in January 2026 by the Ministry of Justice after wartime restrictions were imposed. According to Crowe Ukraine, the information is updated weekly and can be downloaded for free.

Challenges of Ukrainian Company Verification

• The Register Alone Is Not Enough

The Ukrainian USR is publicly available and free to search, but the OECD has specifically recommended measures to improve the verification procedure of UBO data. On the other hand, the Open Government Partnership has also noted that data are incomplete, unstructured, and not timely updated. It’s a work in progress, not a compliance report card. 

• UBO Definition Goes Beyond 25% Ownership

“Under Law of Ukraine No. 755-IV, aligned with FATF Recommendation 24, a UBO includes any natural person exercising decisive influence or control, not just shareholders above 25%. Nominees and intermediaries are explicitly excluded. Effective UBO identification requires tracing actual control, not just registered equity.”

• Cross-Border Structures Add Friction

The presence of foreign founders or offshore connections creates new obligations: ownership diagrams must be certified by the CEO, and foreign register extracts and non-resident UBOs must provide notarized passport copies, according to Ecovis Global. Layered or multi-jurisdictional chains significantly extend verification timelines.

• Russia-Linked Screening Is a Distinct Obligation

Resolution No. 26 of the NBU Board (March 2023) requires banks to conduct client due diligence checks for clients from any state that uses armed aggression against Ukraine, covering 15 specific areas. Thus, regular AML checks cannot replace this.

• UBO Records Require Continuous Upkeep

Updates need to be made within 30 days; discrepancies need to be updated within 3 business days, according to the EY Ukraine UBO alert. It is mandatory for organizations verifying their businesses in Ukraine that continuous monitoring is just as important as onboarding.

How to Verify Ultimate Beneficial Owners in Ukraine

The beneficial ownership laws in Ukraine have established an official threshold of 25% ownership or voting rights, in line with FATF Recommendation 24 on the transparency of legal persons.

However, the concept of control has been incorporated into Ukraine’s anti-money laundering regulations, forcing compliance officers to go beyond looking at equity.

Take the example of a usual structure: the Ukrainian operating company nominates a local director while the sole owner is a Cypriot holding company that, in turn, is held by a Cayman Islands trust with an unnamed beneficiary.

A standard entity search returns clean results at every layer.  It is necessary to trace the ultimate beneficiary behind the Ukrainian business entity through the full ownership chain, as some jurisdictions do not make their beneficial ownership information publicly available.

The identification of the ultimate beneficial owner for Ukraine will involve the comparison of information in the registers with external data gathered and identifying the ownership structure stage by stage. This may also involve enhanced due diligence on declared beneficial owners to ensure they are not nominees or intermediaries.

Fundamentals to Conduct AML Checks on Ukrainian Businesses

AML checks for Ukrainian company due diligence should cover:

• Adverse Media Screening 

Explore negative coverage related to the entity and its key persons, including financial crime, fraud, corruption, regulatory enforcement, and sanctions or asset freeze actions. 

• Sanctions Screening

Check the entity and the UBOs against the U.S. national sanctions lists, including those of the EU and the UK, as well as Ukrainian nationals. 

The names and terms used in the Ukraine-Russia conflict change frequently, so it is important to stay up to date in real time.

• PEP Screening

Check against the Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) list. There are different PEP criteria in Ukraine in line with international standards. 

• Aggressor State Exposure Checks

“As required by NBU Board Resolution No. 26 (2023), screen for indirect links to Russian or Belarusian-linked entities, beneficial owners, or control routes.”

How The KYB Can Assist You in Verifying a Company in Ukraine

The KYB gets its information straight from the USR and Beneficial Ownership Register maintained by the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice, rather than relying on cached or aggregated sources.

Regulatory bodies have access to up-to-date data, the same as the one used by oversight authorities and financial auditors, making The KYB report ready for audit compliance.

The KYB uses automated UBO detection to identify ownership structures, conducts sanctions screening, screens for politically exposed persons and adverse press coverage, and ensures continuous KYB monitoring of any changes in ownership or status.

As The KYB can cover over 250 countries and states, while having information on more than 120 million entities, it enables compliance units and members to do Ukrainian company verifications on one platform.

Book a demo today and see how The KYB handles end-to-end company verification in Ukraine.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How To Check A Company In Ukraine?

To check a company in Ukraine, search the official USR registry by company name or EDRPOU code. For compliance-grade verification, including UBO tracing, sanctions screening, and Russian-linked ownership checks. However, The KYB pulls registry-current data directly from Ukraine’s official sources, all in one place.

• What is the EDRPou Code?

The EDRPOU code is a unique eight-digit identifier assigned to every legal entity registered in Ukraine. It is the most reliable parameter for a precise company register lookup in Ukraine and remains fixed throughout the entity’s existence.

• Is UBO Information Publicly Available In Ukraine?

Yes. Ukraine provides free public access to UBO declarations through its USR and, in 2015, became the first country in the world to launch a public beneficial ownership register, according to Open Ownership. However, independent assessments have documented data quality gaps, so corroboration against external sources is advisable for high-risk relationships.

• Why Is Russia-Linked Ownership Screening Important In Ukraine?

NBU Board Resolution No. 26 of 16 March 2023 obliges banks to identify and document the connections of clients with states that are carrying out armed aggression against Ukraine. Businesses onboarding Ukrainian counterparties should screen for indirect exposure to Russian or Belarusian entities beyond standard AML checks.