FEATURES OF DETERMINING THE ULTIMATE BENEFICIAL OWNER IN NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article analyses the issue of determining the ultimate beneficial owner of non-profit organizations in Ukraine, including their presence or absence in such organizations. The article examines the importance of establishing reliable information about the ultimate beneficial owners of legal entities in the context of the state’s efforts to combat corruption, counteraction to legalization (laundering) of proceeds of crime, establishing corporate transparency of ownership of legal entities and tracing illegal financial flows. The article describes the concept of the ultimate beneficial owner under the current legislation of Ukraine and examines the signs of direct and indirect decisive influence on the activities of a legal entity. The article analyses the provisions of the main laws in Ukraine regulating the activities of non-profit organizations such as public, charitable and religious organizations, as well as the methodology for determining the ultimate beneficial owner of a legal entity. Furthermore, the article delves into the primary challenges associated with identifying the ultimate beneficial owner in various types and legal forms of non-profit organizations, considering the legal nature of such organizations, as well as the absence of shareholders or owners and charter capital. In addition, the article explores the peculiarities of filling in and submitting ownership structures of such organizations and reflecting the relevant information in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organizations. The article explains and justifies the reasons for the absence of ultimate beneficial owners in public, charitable and religious organizations, including examples of legislative initiatives to exempt such organizations from the obligation to submit information on their ultimate beneficial owners. Consequently, based on the research findings, there is a proposal to alleviate bureaucratic burdens on non-profit organizations by amending legislation and exempting such organizations from the obligation to provide information on their ultimate beneficial owners, since they do not have them in view of their legal nature of activity.