Who is Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono? The Woman Behind the Exploding Pagers in Lebanon

By Girish Linganna | First Published Sep 21, 2024, 11:30 AM IST

Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono, CEO of BAC Consulting, is under protection following her company's link to exploding pagers in Lebanon and Syria. While Hungarian authorities claim the pagers were never in Hungary and BAC Consulting acted as a middleman, the company's diverse business activities and financial records raise further questions.

Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono, whose company was connected to thousands of exploding pagers in Lebanon and Syria this week, is currently under the protection of Hungary's secret services, according to her mother, who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday, September 20.

Bársony-Arcidiacono has stayed out of the public eye since the coordinated attacks on Tuesday, September 17, which primarily targeted Hezbollah and have been widely attributed to Israel.

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She is named as the CEO of BAC Consulting, a company based in Budapest. According to the Taiwanese company that owns the pager trademark, BAC Consulting was in charge of producing the devices.

Her mother, Beatrix Bársony-Arcidiacono, informed The Associated Press that her daughter had received some threats and is now in a secure location under the protection of Hungary's secret services. She mentioned over the phone from Sicily that the Hungarian secret services had advised her daughter not to speak to the media.

Hungary's national security authorities did not respond right away to a request for comment, and the Associated Press was unable to independently confirm the claim.

The attacks on Tuesday, September 17, and Wednesday, September 18, began with explosions in pagers and later targeted walkie-talkies. These incidents resulted in the deaths of at least 37 people and injured over 3,000, with most of the victims being Hezbollah members.Two children were also killed in the attacks. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have accused Israel of being behind the incidents, though Israel has not confirmed or denied any involvement.

Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono’s company faced investigation after Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company, revealed it had given BAC Consulting permission to use its name on the pagers involved in the first attack. However, they clarified that BAC Consulting was in charge of the pagers' manufacturing and design.

On Wednesday, September 18, a Hungarian government spokesperson stated that the pagers supplied to Hezbollah were never in Hungary and that BAC Consulting only acted as a middleman.

Beatrix Bársony-Arcidiacono, who also goes by the name Beatrice, agreed with this. She clarified that her daughter had no direct involvement, stating, "She was just a broker. The items did not go through Budapest, and they were not made in Hungary."

BAC Consulting operates from the ground floor of a simple building in Budapest, which it shares with several other businesses. It doesn't have a physical office there, using the address only as its official registered location, according to a woman who spoke from the building earlier in the week but chose to remain anonymous.

The company’s website stated that it focused on "environment, development, and international affairs." According to the corporate registry, it was involved in 118 different activities, including sugar and oil production, jewelry retail, and natural gas extraction.

According to the company registry, the business earned $725,000 in revenue in 2022 and $593,000 in 2023. Last year, it spent almost $324,000, which is about 55% of its total revenue, on "equipment." The company's website has been inaccessible since Wednesday.

Beatrix Bársony-Arcidiacono shared that her daughter was born in Sicily and attended the University of Catania before going on to pursue a Ph.D. in London, according to the Times of Israel.She worked in Paris and Vienna before relocating to Budapest in October 2016 to take care of her elderly grandmother.

According to her LinkedIn profile, the 49-year-old earned her degree from University College London, where she studied in the early to mid-2000s. Ákos Kövér, a Hungarian physicist and retired professor, confirmed that she was a student there. In an email to the AP, Kövér stated, "We published a few joint articles at the time, but I am not aware of her other activities."

She interned at the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2008 and 2009, according to the agency. She also co-authored a paper for a UNESCO conference that focused on managing underground water.

On her social media, she shared photos from France, the UK, and other locations, mostly consisting of selfies or pictures of the places she was visiting.A few friends responded to her posts, with some inviting her to visit and others commenting on her appearance.

According to her social media, she speaks English, French, Italian, and Hungarian. She has occasionally posted comments criticizing Ukraine and expressing support for children in Gaza.

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