Lebanon’s Exploding Pagers
The woman whose company was linked to a series of devastating pager explosions in Lebanon and Syria this week has reportedly received unspecified threats, according to her mother, Beatrix Bársony-Arcidiacono.
The attacks, which targeted pagers and walkie-talkies, resulted in at least 37 fatalities and over 3,000 injuries, with Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blaming Israel for the incidents, although Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono, the daughter, has been advised by Hungarian secret services not to engage with the media following the attacks. She is currently said to be in a secure location under the protection of these services.
However, Hungary’s Special Service for National Security has disputed her mother’s claims, stating that Cristiana does not qualify for such protection. The agency noted that she has been interviewed multiple times since the investigation began on Wednesday.
The investigation has revealed that the pagers involved in the attacks were never on Hungarian soil, and that no Hungarian company or expert was responsible for their manufacture or modification. This assertion comes amid a backdrop of uncertainty regarding the involvement of Cristiana’s Budapest-based company, BAC Consulting, which is listed as the manufacturer of the devices.
Cristiana has not made any public appearances since the attacks, and her mother insists that her daughter was merely a broker in this situation and had no direct involvement in the plot to convert the pagers into explosives.
Beatrix reiterated that the devices did not pass through Budapest and were not produced in Hungary, echoing earlier statements from the Hungarian government.
The Taiwanese trademark holder of the pagers, Gold Apollo, has stated that it authorized BAC Consulting to use its name on the devices that detonated. However, it emphasized that the Hungarian company was responsible for their actual manufacturing and design.
BAC Consulting operates out of a modest office shared with multiple businesses in Budapest but lacks a distinct physical presence. According to a woman who was seen exiting the building, the companies use the address solely for official registration purposes.
The company’s website, which indicated it specialized in various sectors, including environment and international affairs, has been offline since the attacks.
Financial records show that BAC Consulting reported revenues of $725,000 in 2022 and $593,000 in 2023, with significant expenditures on equipment. Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono, born in Sicily, holds a Ph.D. in physics from University College London and has worked with international organizations as well as venture capital firms.
Her diverse career path has taken her from studying in Sicily to working in cities like Paris and Vienna before settling in Budapest in 2016 to care for her grandmother.
On social media, she presents herself as a strategic advisor and business developer, fluent in multiple languages, including English, French, Italian, and Hungarian.
She has also made occasional comments supporting causes such as children in Gaza while expressing criticism toward Ukraine.
This complex web of connections and the unfolding situation surrounding the pager explosions continue to raise questions about the involvement of Cristiana and her company, as well as the broader implications for security and accountability in international business dealings.
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