Identify the legal entity
Confirm the company, registry identifier, jurisdiction and status before following any ownership path.
Solution
Trace ownership and UBO evidence without overstating certainty
Follow disclosed shareholders and company-to-company ownership paths, retain the registry source, and separate ownership research from identity verification and risk decisions.
DATA LINEAGE
01
Official registryLegal records and filings
02
Structured recordNormalised, digitised and resolved
03
Connected contextPeople, ownership and linkages
Source provenance retained
Due-diligence boundary
Know what the record establishes — and what still needs verification.
Beneficial-ownership rules and available fields vary by jurisdiction. A returned shareholder or control link is evidence to review, not a universal UBO determination.
Trace disclosed ownership
Review returned individual and corporate shareholders, relationship type, percentages when supplied, source and retrieval date.
Verify outside the graph
Apply the relevant legal threshold, resolve missing or conflicting evidence, verify natural-person identity and complete screening in your authorised compliance systems.
Evidence map
Use each source for the question it can answer.
| Question | Zephira record | Reviewer action |
|---|---|---|
| Which legal entity is under review? | Registry identifier, legal name, jurisdiction, status and source | Resolve aliases and confirm the target entity. |
| Who is disclosed as an owner or shareholder? | Returned person or company relationship and available interest data | Check the filing context, date and jurisdiction-specific meaning. |
| Does the chain reach a natural person? | Available company-to-company and person relationships | Investigate gaps, circular paths, nominees and protected or unavailable data. |
| Is the person a UBO for this policy? | Source-linked ownership evidence | Apply the relevant law and risk policy; do not infer a universal threshold. |
| Has identity or risk been verified? | Not established by the ownership graph alone | Use appropriate identity, sanctions, PEP and adverse-media controls. |
Missing means unknown: an absent owner, percentage or field means it was not returned for that source or record. It is not proof that no owner or interest exists.
Practical workflow
Turn an ownership graph into a reviewable decision.
Keep the company record, ownership evidence and compliance decision as separate objects so another reviewer can reconstruct the case.
Scope
Name the target entity, jurisdiction, policy and review date.
Collect
Retrieve the company record and disclosed ownership links with source metadata.
Traverse
Follow corporate owners; record loops, gaps and unresolved interests instead of silently closing them.
Assess
Apply the correct jurisdictional rules and your risk-based threshold to the available evidence.
Verify
Confirm natural-person identity and run required screening in the authorised system of record.
Decide
Store the reviewer, evidence, exceptions, outcome and next review trigger.
Common questions
About ownership & ubo due diligence
What is Ownership & UBO due diligence?
Ownership & UBO due diligence is part of Zephira’s registry-sourced company-data platform. Investigate disclosed shareholders, corporate owners and group relationships using source-linked company data.
Where does the underlying company data come from?
Zephira starts with official company registries and filed documents, then preserves source metadata as records are structured, resolved and enriched.
How can I access ownership & ubo due diligence?
Depending on the workflow, Zephira data can be accessed through company search, REST API, bulk data feeds or MCP for AI agents.
Who uses ownership & ubo due diligence?
Compliance, risk, data, product and AI teams use ownership & ubo due diligence when they need structured company facts with clear provenance.
Where does the data for ownership & ubo due diligence come from?
Official company registries and filed company documents are the starting point. Source context is retained so users can trace material facts.
Which countries are supported for ownership & ubo due diligence?
Coverage is jurisdiction-specific. Review the registry directory and field-availability pages for the documented source, fields and limitations in each country.
How current is the information used by ownership & ubo due diligence?
Freshness depends on the source registry and field. Zephira records retrieval context and documents refresh cadence rather than implying that every field updates continuously.
How does ownership & ubo due diligence preserve provenance?
Registry identifiers, source classification and retrieval metadata remain linked to the company record wherever the underlying source provides them.
Can ownership & ubo due diligence be accessed through an API?
Yes. Relevant company-data capabilities can be delivered through Zephira’s REST API, bulk feeds, company search or MCP, depending on the workflow.
How should missing fields be interpreted?
A missing field means the value was not returned for that record or source. Treat it as unresolved, record the source and retrieval date, and decide whether another registry, document or enhanced review is required. It is not proof that the fact does not exist.
Does Zephira verify the identity of a UBO?
No. An ownership record can help identify a person disclosed in company sources, but it does not by itself verify that person's identity or complete sanctions, PEP or adverse-media screening. Use the appropriate authorised compliance services for those controls.
Should every review use a 25% threshold?
No. Ownership and control tests depend on the jurisdiction, entity type, applicable law and your risk policy. Use percentages returned by a source as evidence, then apply the rules relevant to the specific case.
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