Here's what we know so far about the Hungarian company linked to the exploded pagers used by Hezbollah

The headquarters of the company that manufactured the pagers that exploded in Lebanon are located in Szőnyi Street in Budapest, opposite an industrial park, and surrounded by neat family homes and apartment buildings. BAC Consulting made the news on Wednesday after thousands of pagers exploded throughout Lebanon and Syria, in the hands and pockets of Hezbollah members. A few hours later it was revealed that the pagers were made by a Taiwanese company, Gold Apollo,

but the company announced on Wednesday that the AR-924 pagers ordered by Hezbollah were actually produced and distributed under licence by a Budapest-based company, BAC Consulting Ltd.

At first glance, there is no sign of the company's presence in the apartment building listed as the headquarters of BAC, and it turns out that this is no coincidence: when we rang the bell, a woman came out of the building and, upon our enquiry, told us that she was only there as the headquarters manager, and that no one from BAC Consulting was ever there. She also said that the company only receives mail once a month, and that she is the one responsible for collecting it. There are several other businesses registered at the same address, one of which has the same landline number listed on its website as the one that used to be listed for BAC Consulting.

The past tense is justified because the website became unavailable shortly after the press reported on Gold Apollo's announcement about BAC Consulting Ltd's alleged involvement. At first, a log-in window appeared instead of the previous content, and at the time of writing, only an error message is visible, saying that the site cannot be accessed without authorisation. However, the Internet Archive has preserved the original content, which shows that Ltd is a consultancy firm working on a wide variety of projects.

According to company records, BAC Consulting Ltd. has been in business for two years, with activities ranging from newspaper publishing to oil production, and its owner doesn't own any other companies. In 2023, the company had a turnover of HUF 210 million (532 thousand euros) and a profit of HUF 13 million (33,000 euros). Interestingly, last year it spent only HUF 521,000 (1,300 euros) on personnel expenses, which is very low even for one employee. On the other hand, the company spent quite a lot on material costs, a total of HUF 196 656 000, the equivalent of about half a million euros.

Among their values they list creativity, diversity, integrity, leadership, collaboration and innovation. In her introduction on the site, Cristiana Arcidiacono-Bársony, who is listed as the owner of the company, writes that a quote from Leonardo Da Vinci best sums up her philosophy. According to this, "the most beautiful and noble thing is nature itself". She adds that for this reason she is happy to devote most of her life to science and development. "My Italian and Hungarian roots, my innate desire for freedom and my search for meaning have allowed me to discover different countries, people and... realities," he says.

The company's founder writes that she graduated from university in London and has published articles in scientific journals and other publications. According to the description, she has collaborated with Nobel Peace Prize-winning institutions and has advised organisations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and UNESCO.

There is no information either on the website or in the data available on the company that explains how a Budapest-based consulting firm became a distributor and manufacturer of a Taiwanese company's pager. The only project described on the site that resembles this is an international cooperation established with the goal to sell telecommunication equipment and to help an Asian company to expand its activities into new markets, including developing countries. NBC has managed to reach Bársony-Arcidiacono by phone, who admitted that her company had indeed worked with Gold Apollo,

but when asked about the explosions and the pagers, she said that there must be a misunderstanding becasue her company was only a middleman and did not manufacture the devices.

Gold Apollo has yet to publicly disclose its agreement with BAC Consulting. The Taiwanese company's CEO, Hsu Ching-Kuang, told the correspondent of AP on Wednesday that the agreement was signed three years ago and that it was BAC that came to them with the request to manufacture the pager.

It remains unclear how Gold Apollo could have entered into a cooperation agreement with the company three years ago, and how they could have been in contact with them before that, considering that the Budapest-based firm had only been doing business for two years. We contacted BAC Consulting by phone about the matter, but despite repeated calls, we were unable to reach them. We have also emailed the CEO, Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono, and have contacted Gold Apollo, but have not yet received a reply.