Beneficial Ownership Requirements for Legal Entity Customers

Subject to certain exclusions and exemptions, 31 CFR 1010.230 requires covered financial institutions to establish and maintain written procedures that are reasonably designed to identify and verify beneficial owners of new accounts opened by legal entity customers and to include such procedures in their AML programs. Covered financial institutions may obtain the required identifying information by either obtaining a prescribed certification form from the individual opening the account on behalf of the legal entity customer, or by obtaining from the individual the information required by the form by another means, provided the individual certifies to the best of the individual’s knowledge the accuracy of the information. Covered financial institutions must verify the identity of each beneficial owner identified according to risk-based procedures and may rely on the information supplied by the legal entity customer regarding the identity of its beneficial owner or owners, provided that it has no knowledge of facts that would reasonably call into question the reliability of such information. Covered financial institutions must also maintain a record of the identifying information obtained, and a description of any document relied on for verification, including a description of any non-documentary methods and results of any measures undertaken, and the resolutions of substantive discrepancies. Covered financial institutions must retain records used to identify each beneficial owner for five years after the date the account is closed and must also retain records used to verify the identity of each beneficial owner for five years after the record is made.

The latest form for Beneficial Ownership Requirements for Legal Entity Customers expires 2027-09-30 and can be found here.

Customer identification, verification, and review and recordkeeping of the beneficial ownership information

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Law Enforcement - Criminal Investigation and Surveillance

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