Skip to main content
The Business Owners Research check identifies individuals associated with business ownership through online research and cross-references them with self-attested ownership data. This check helps verify ownership structure and identify ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs).

​
Overview

The check examines:
  • Online mentions of business owners and leadership
  • LinkedIn profiles and professional networks
  • Corporate registry data
  • News articles and press releases
  • Company websites and about pages
  • Social media profiles

​
Running the Check

​
API Endpoint

POST https://api.parcha.ai/api/v1/startKYBAgentJob

​
Request Parameters

Important: You must use your own agent key, not a default or public agent key. Your agent key can be found in the Parcha dashboard under your agent’s settings, or in the “Test API Integration” dialog.
​
agent_key
string
required
Your KYB agent key from the Parcha dashboard. This is unique to your organization and agent configuration.
​
check_id
string
required
Use "kyb.business_owners_check" for business owners research.
​
payload
object
required
The business information for verification.

​
Example Request

curl -X POST 'https://api.parcha.ai/api/v1/startKYBAgentJob' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{
  "agent_key": "your-kyb-agent-key",
  "check_id": "kyb.business_owners_check",
  "payload": {
    "id": "owners-check-001",
    "self_attested_data": {
      "business_name": "TechCorp Inc",
      "website": "https://techcorp.example",
      "associated_individuals": [
        {
          "first_name": "Jane",
          "last_name": "Smith",
          "is_business_owner": true,
          "business_ownership_percentage": 51,
          "title": "CEO & Founder"
        },
        {
          "first_name": "John",
          "last_name": "Doe",
          "is_business_owner": true,
          "business_ownership_percentage": 49,
          "title": "CTO & Co-Founder"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}'

​
Initial Response

{
  "id": "job-abc123",
  "status": "PENDING",
  "created_at": "2024-02-15T10:30:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2024-02-15T10:30:00Z",
  "agent_id": "your-agent-key",
  "input_payload": {
    // Original request payload
  }
}

​
Retrieving Check Results

Once the job is complete, retrieve the results using the job ID with the getJobByID endpoint. Make sure to include the include_check_results=true parameter to get the full check results. 
GET https://api.parcha.ai/api/v1/getJobByID?job_id=job-abc123&include_check_results=true

​
Check Process

The business owners research check follows these steps:
  1. Online Research
    • Searches LinkedIn for company leadership
    • Analyzes company website team pages
    • Reviews business directories and registries
    • Examines news articles and press releases
  2. Owner Identification
    • Identifies individuals in leadership roles
    • Extracts ownership and title information
    • Builds ownership structure from public data
  3. Verification
    • Cross-references found owners with self-attested data
    • Validates names, titles, and ownership percentages
    • Identifies discrepancies or missing owners
  4. Risk Assessment
    • Flags undisclosed owners with significant stakes
    • Identifies ownership structure concerns
    • Evaluates transparency of ownership information

​
Check Results

​
Response Structure

{
  type: "BusinessOwnersCheckResult";
  passed: boolean;
  identified_owners: Array<IdentifiedOwner>;
  self_attested_owners: Array<SelfAttestedOwner>;
  match_results: Array<OwnerMatch>;
  discrepancies?: Array<Discrepancy>;
}

type IdentifiedOwner = {
  name: string;
  title?: string;
  ownership_percentage?: number;
  source: string;
  source_url?: string;
  confidence_score: number;
}

type OwnerMatch = {
  self_attested_owner: string;
  identified_owner?: string;
  match_status: "verified" | "partial_match" | "not_found" | "mismatch";
  confidence_score?: number;
}

type Discrepancy = {
  type: string;
  severity: "low" | "medium" | "high";
  description: string;
}

​
Example Results

{
  "type": "BusinessOwnersCheckResult",
  "passed": true,
  "identified_owners": [
    {
      "name": "Jane Smith",
      "title": "CEO & Founder",
      "ownership_percentage": 51,
      "source": "LinkedIn",
      "source_url": "https://linkedin.com/in/janesmith",
      "confidence_score": 95
    },
    {
      "name": "John Doe",
      "title": "CTO & Co-Founder",
      "ownership_percentage": 49,
      "source": "Company Website",
      "source_url": "https://techcorp.example/about",
      "confidence_score": 92
    }
  ],
  "match_results": [
    {
      "self_attested_owner": "Jane Smith",
      "identified_owner": "Jane Smith",
      "match_status": "verified",
      "confidence_score": 95
    },
    {
      "self_attested_owner": "John Doe",
      "identified_owner": "John Doe",
      "match_status": "verified",
      "confidence_score": 92
    }
  ],
  "discrepancies": []
}

​
Risk Factors

The check may flag concerns if:
  • Self-attested owners cannot be verified online
  • Additional owners found who were not disclosed
  • Ownership percentages don’t match between sources
  • Complex or opaque ownership structures
  • Frequent changes in ownership
  • No ownership information publicly available
  • Owners appear on sanctions or PEP lists

​
Configuration Options

The check can be configured with:
  • enable_linkedin_search: Search LinkedIn for owners
  • enable_open_search: Use open web search for ownership data
  • enable_ubo_search: Search for ultimate beneficial owners
  • enable_opencorporates: Include OpenCorporates registry data
  • enable_smart_crawling: Crawl company websites for team pages
  • use_web_presence_data: Use web presence check data for context

​
Best Practices

  1. Request Complete Information: Ask for all owners with 25%+ stakes
  2. Cross-Verify: Use multiple sources to confirm ownership
  3. Document Sources: Track where ownership information comes from
  4. Regular Updates: Re-verify ownership periodically
  5. Combine Checks: Use alongside ownership document verification