DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 11, 2026--
MultiBank Group, one of the world’s largest and most regulated financial derivatives institutions, has announced that its Founder and Chairman, Naser Taher, has been named among Forbes Middle East’s Top 100 CEOs 2026, recognising his longstanding leadership and achievements in the global financial services industry.
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The annual Forbes Middle East Top 100 CEOs list celebrates prominent business leaders who are shaping the region’s corporate landscape and leading organisations with significant scale, influence and impact. The ranking brings together senior executives from across key industries in the Middle East, highlighting their leadership and the performance and development of the organisations they lead.
Taher’s recognition reflects a career spanning more than 37 years across the global financial and commercial sectors. In 2005, he founded MultiBank Group in California and has since overseen its growth into a global financial institution with a presence across 100 countries, serving more than two million institutional and retail clients and recording daily trading volumes exceeding $35 billion.
Under his leadership, MultiBank Group has also built an extensive international regulatory footprint, holding licences from more than 18 financial regulators across five continents. The Group provides brokerage and asset management solutions across a broad range of financial products, including forex, metals, shares, commodities, indices and digital assets.
Commenting on the recognition, Naser Taher, Founder and Chairman of MultiBank Group, said : “It is an honour to be recognised by Forbes Middle East among the region’s Top 100 CEOs. This recognition reflects the journey we have undertaken at MultiBank Group over the past two decades and, most importantly, the dedication of our teams around the world. From the outset, our ambition has been to build a global financial institution founded on strong regulation, innovation and trust. As we continue to expand our international presence and capabilities, we remain focused on setting new standards for the financial services industry and delivering long-term value to our clients and partners worldwide.”
His career has also extended beyond financial markets. Among his achievements, Taher was appointed Head of the Irish Stock Exchange Development Projects in 2005, Vice President of the Chinese Banking and Entrepreneur Association in 2008, Honorary Chief Financial Advisor to the Chinese Government of Tianjin in 2013, and Senior Advisor to the Chinese Central Financial Government in 2016.
The Forbes Middle East recognition comes as MultiBank Group continues to expand its international footprint and strengthen its capabilities across traditional and digital financial markets, building on Naser Taher’s long-term vision to position the Group among the world’s leading financial institutions.
ABOUT MULTIBANK GROUP
MultiBank Group, established in California, USA in 2005, is a global leader in financial derivatives, serving over 2 million clients across 100 countries, and boasts a daily trading volume that exceeds $35 billion. Renowned for its innovative trading solutions, robust regulatory compliance, and exceptional customer service, the Group offers an array of brokerage services and asset management solutions. It is regulated across five continents by 18+ of the most reputable financial authorities globally. The group’s award-winning trading platforms offer up to 1000:1 leverage on a diverse range of products, including Forex, Metals, Shares, Commodities, Indices, and Cryptocurrencies. MultiBank Group has received over 80 financial awards recognizing its trading excellence and regulatory compliance. For more information, visit MultiBank Group.
Naser Taher has been named among Forbes Middle East’s Top 100 CEOs 2026, recognising his longstanding leadership and achievements in the global financial services industry.
President Donald Trump secretly flew out of last month's NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on an alternate military aircraft while the White House made it appear that the Republican president was flying on Air Force One, according to a report published by The Washington Post on Monday.
The Post said the operation was prompted by an Iranian assassination threat against Trump. The ruse was carried out as journalists and some White House staff members were led to believe they were on the same plane as the president as he began his journey back to Washington from the annual gathering of NATO country leaders.
The Post cited material reviewed by the newspaper, a U.S. official familiar with the operation and another person with knowledge of the president’s travel. The Associated Press has not independently confirmed the report.
Trump had flown to the summit in a new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted red, white and navy blue jet. But ahead of departing Turkey, he said he would fly partway home on an older-model baby blue Air Force One plane instead.
The president at the time said the new luxury jet was being flown out ahead of his departure from Ankara to give some U.S. troops based in eastern England a chance to check out the new Air Force One.
In Ankara, Trump boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras ahead of the plane flying to Royal Air Force Mildenhall in the United Kingdom.
However, according to the Post report, after boarding the legacy Air Force One jet, he was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane — an Air Force C-32A — via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies. Trump flew to Mildenhall on that smaller jet.
The White House did not respond directly to questions about the Post report of the secret operation to whisk Trump out of the country on a third aircraft, or the reported elaborate ruse to make it appear he was on the baby blue Air Force One jet flying to Mildenhall.
“As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
The U.S. Secret Service declined to comment. The Air Force, which maintains the fleet of executive travel aircraft, referred questions to the White House.
While Trump was in Turkey, the U.S. military conducted a series of large strikes in Iran in retaliation for its attacks on merchant shipping in the region.
The New York Times and CBS News reported last month that intelligence officials had raised concerns about a potential attack on the president or his jet, triggering additional precautions and the decision not to use the newly inaugurated aircraft gifted to Trump by Qatar for the first leg of Trump’s trip home from Ankara.
The swap had spurred questions about the security of the Qatar-provided aircraft, and Trump said last month after the trip that it would undergo additional upgrades.
Cheung on Monday maintained that the new, Qatari-gifted plane was “a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff.”
The new Post report on clandestinely putting Trump on a third aircraft and quietly whisking him out of the country adds a fresh layer to just how seriously concerned U.S. security officials were about the threat against Trump during the ongoing war with Iran.
Paul Eckloff, a former special agent with the Secret Service, said such an unusual move could either reflect actionable intelligence or an abundance of caution given volatility in the region with the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
“I would not say unprecedented, but it is an unusual occurrence,” Eckloff told The Associated Press.
The Post reported that to exit that plane without being seen by those uninvolved in the operation, Trump and several aides stepped aboard an airport catering truck, which was elevated planeside using hydraulics and positioned at a door on the opposite side of Air Force One’s entrance.
The small group of reporters who thought they were traveling with Trump were advised to lower their window shades ahead of takeoff.
After arriving at Mildenhall, news photographers captured images of Trump getting off the presidential plane — suggesting he reboarded Air Force One out of sight of the pack of journalists who thought they were traveling with him.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal called for a congressional investigation.
“It is unprecedented and it is surreal,” he said Monday on CNN, calling the incident “downright scary.”
After the brief visit to the base at Mildenhall, Trump boarded the new Air Force One aircraft to fly the rest of the way to Washington.
During a gaggle with reporters aboard the aircraft, Trump was asked directly if there was any credible threats on Air Force One by Iran.
“Well, I have a threat all the time. I’m number one on their list before you,” Trump said. He added to the traveling reporters, “But if I go, you go.”
AP writers Josh Boak, Aamer Madhani and Konstantin Toropin contributed reporting.
A catering truck is parked at Air Force One on the tarmac as the motorcade carrying U.S. President Donald Trump arrives on the tarmac to depart following the NATO summit at Ankara International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump talks to service members as he switches planes at U.S. Air Force Base, RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk Eastern England, on his way back to Washington from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Catering trucks are parked at Air Force One on the tarmac as the motorcade carrying U.S. President Donald Trump arrives on the tarmac to depart following the NATO summit at Ankara International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FILE - A catering truck is parked at Air Force One on the tarmac as the motorcade carrying U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to depart following the NATO summit at Ankara International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Catering trucks are parked at Air Force One on the tarmac as the motorcade carrying U.S. President Donald Trump arrives on the tarmac to depart following the NATO summit at Ankara International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth watches at left, President Donald Trump gestures as he switches planes at U.S. Air Force Base, RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk Eastern England, on his way back to Washington from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
