BUDAPEST. Hungarian intelligence agencies have interviewed Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, the CEO of BAC Consulting, in connection with deadly explosions involving pagers used by Hezbollah members earlier this week. BAC Consulting, a Budapest-based company, has been linked to the devices used in the blasts that resulted in dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries in Lebanon.
The Hungarian government, through its international press office, confirmed on Saturday that Barsony-Arcidiacono has undergone multiple interviews since Wednesday. This was part of an ongoing investigation led by Hungary’s Constitution Protection Office (AH), one of the nation’s key intelligence agencies. The office clarified that the devices used in the explosions were never present in Hungary.
Barsony-Arcidiacono, a 49-year-old Italian-Hungarian national and CEO of BAC Consulting, denied manufacturing the pagers during an interview with NBC News, stating: “I was just the intermediate.” She emphasized that BAC Consulting had no involvement in the production of the devices and only served as a trading intermediary.
Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese pager manufacturer, also distanced itself from the incident, stating earlier in the week that the pagers used in the attacks were made by BAC Consulting, with Gold Apollo only licensing its brand to the company.
The explosions, which occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday, involved pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members. The attacks have resulted in a death toll of 39, with more than 3,000 injured. While Israel is widely believed to be behind the attacks, it has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government previously clarified that BAC Consulting is merely a trading intermediary company with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary.
The situation continues to raise questions about the extent of the company’s involvement and whether further connections will be uncovered in the investigation.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
