About Business Verification (KYB)

TrustGate Business Verification provides comprehensive Know Your Business (KYB) capabilities to verify corporate entities, their ownership structures, and beneficial owners.

What is KYB?

Know Your Business (KYB) is the process of verifying the identity and legitimacy of a business entity before establishing a commercial relationship. KYB extends beyond individual KYC to examine:

• Legal existence and registration
• Ownership structure
• Beneficial owners (UBOs)
• Business activities and operations
• Corporate documents

Why KYB Matters

Regulatory Requirements

• AML regulations require verification of business customers
• Beneficial ownership rules mandate UBO identification (25%+ owners)
• Sanctions compliance extends to corporate entities
• Due diligence requirements for correspondent banking, B2B payments

Risk Management

• Verify businesses are legitimately registered
• Identify shell companies and high-risk structures
• Detect complex ownership designed to obscure UBOs
• Screen businesses and UBOs against watchlists

KYB Components

Company Verification

Verify the business entity itself:

Verification	Description
Registration Check	Confirm company is registered with authorities
Legal Status	Active, dissolved, struck off, etc.
Registration Details	Number, date, jurisdiction
Registered Address	Official address on file
Directors/Officers	Current officers and directors

Beneficial Owner Identification

Identify individuals who ultimately own or control the company:

UBO Criteria	Description
Ownership threshold	25%+ direct or indirect ownership
Voting rights	25%+ voting control
Control through other means	Board control, veto rights
Senior management	If no UBOs identified above threshold

Document Collection

Required corporate documents:

Document	Purpose
Certificate of Incorporation	Proves legal existence
Articles of Association	Governance rules
Shareholder Register	Ownership evidence
Board Resolution	Authorization to transact
Proof of Address	Business address verification

KYB Workflow

1. Company Information Submitted
           ↓
2. Registration Verification
   └─> Check against company registries
           ↓
3. Document Collection
   └─> Upload and verify corporate docs
           ↓
4. UBO Identification
   └─> Identify all 25%+ owners
           ↓
5. UBO Verification (KYC)
   └─> Verify each UBO as individual
           ↓
6. Screening
   └─> Screen company and all UBOs
           ↓
7. Risk Assessment
   └─> Calculate company risk score
           ↓
8. Review & Decision
   └─> Approve or reject

API Quick Start

Create a Company

curl -X POST https://api.bytrustgate.com/v1/companies \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "legal_name": "Acme Corporation Ltd",
    "registration_number": "12345678",
    "incorporation_country": "USA",
    "incorporation_date": "2015-06-15",
    "legal_form": "corporation"
  }'

Add Beneficial Owner

curl -X POST https://api.bytrustgate.com/v1/companies/{company_id}/ubos \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "first_name": "John",
    "last_name": "Doe",
    "ownership_percentage": 40.0,
    "ownership_type": "direct",
    "roles": ["director", "shareholder"]
  }'

Screen Company

curl -X POST https://api.bytrustgate.com/v1/screening/check \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "company_id": "660e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440001",
    "check_types": ["sanctions", "adverse_media"]
  }'

Risk Factors

Company Risk Indicators

Factor	Risk Impact
High-risk jurisdiction	+20 points
Complex ownership structure	+15 points
Bearer shares	+25 points
Nominee directors	+20 points
Shell company indicators	+30 points
Sanctions match	+50 points
Adverse media	+10-30 points

UBO Risk Indicators

Factor	Risk Impact
PEP status	+25 points
Sanctions match	+50 points
High-risk nationality	+15 points
Multiple UBO roles	+5 points

Compliance Benefits

Requirement	How TrustGate Helps
Corporate Transparency Act	UBO identification and verification
EU AML Directives	Full KYB with UBO registry checks
FinCEN CDD Rule	Beneficial ownership collection
FATF Recommendations	Risk-based due diligence

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Next Steps

• Company Verification - Verify company registration
• Beneficial Owners - UBO identification and verification
• Company Screening - Screen companies against watchlists
• Companies API - Full API reference