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MultiBank Group announced that its founder and chairman Naser Taher was named among the Top 100 CEOs for 2026 by Forbes Middle East. The annual ranking assembles business leaders from the region’s primary industries and weighs their contributions to the development of the corporate landscape. This recognition arrives 21 years after Taher founded the financial derivatives firm in California in 2005.
The institution subsequently shifted its headquarters to Dubai and has since established operations in more than 100 countries while serving over two million institutional and retail clients, the announcement stated. It holds licences from more than 18 financial regulators across five continents. The group has extended into digital assets through its mb.io cryptocurrency exchange, which is regulated by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and supports spot trading along with real-world asset tokenisation.
Taher also secured the Golden Excellence Award for FinTech, Digital Asset and Blockchain Excellence during the 9th Golden Excellence Awards in 2026. H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Cabinet member and Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, presented the honour at the event in Dubai, a MultiBank Group statement indicated. The company described the dual recognitions as a reflection of Taher’s more than three-decade career spanning traditional markets and emerging technologies.
Before launching MultiBank Group, Taher directed development initiatives at the Irish Stock Exchange and undertook financial advisory positions with Chinese organisations and government bodies, according to the statement. His professional path has tracked substantial evolutions in financial services, from regulated derivatives to blockchain applications. The group has prioritised compliant innovation to meet demand from its expanding international client base.
The recognitions follow earlier honours for Taher, including a place on Arabian Business’s 100 Most Inspiring Leaders list in 2024 and awards from Le Fonti and Entrepreneur Middle East, prior company releases show. These earlier accolades similarly emphasised his role in advancing financial infrastructure across Asia and the Middle East. MultiBank Group has cited such recognition as validation of its strategy to integrate digital assets within a regulated framework.
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, launched to oversee the sector, has supported platforms like mb.io as the emirate seeks to strengthen its position in global fintech, according to regulatory overviews. The authority’s licensing process ensures compliance for activities including tokenisation, which has gained traction among institutional participants. Company data places MultiBank Group’s current scale as the outcome of sustained expansion since its relocation to the UAE.
