Important!
Currently, we are observing the increased activity of obliged entities (including banks) in terms of requesting their clients to provide documentation justifying a particular UBO disclosure. Banks set a short (usually 5-7 days) deadline for providing the required documents, which is insufficient in the case of the need to carry out an analysis or consultations as well as to prepare a formal summary of the conclusions (e.g. in the form of a legal opinion).
Importantly, failure to document that a UBO analysis has been performed may result in:
- the freezing of bank accounts,
- a financial penalty of up to PLN 1 million (approx. EUR 210,000) in case of incorrect identification of a UBO,
- the local board's criminal liability in the event of the reporting inaccurate data.
EY Law Experts' Standpoint
If the ultimate beneficial owner cannot be identified, it should be documented by conducting an appropriate legal analysis. This should include not only a description of the capital structure, but also a consideration of each of the grounds for identification of the UBO indicated in the Polish AML Act. Moreover, it should take into account the interpretations of the AML regulations published by the Polish Ministry of Finance.
EY Law's experts will support you in the process of conducting a UBO analysis, including:
- providing a questionnaire and a list of documents necessary to identify the UBO and document the process accordingly,
- on the basis of the information and documents received, conducting an appropriate analysis, which will indicate whether the notification of the company's UBO is correct.
The analysis will allow the company to demonstrate to the obligated entities that its UBO disclosed in CRBR has been determined correctly.
Summary
Failure to perform or/and document an ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) analysis under the Polish law may result in, among other things, the freezing of a bank account of a local entity.
