The Mystery Behind the Woman Linked to the Pagers That Exploded Across Lebanon

A search for the origins of the innocent-looking devices that exploded in the hands of nearly 3,000 people in Lebanon, many affiliated with the pro-Iranian group Hezbollah, leads to a mystery woman who promotes herself as “Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono, Ph.D.”Just who she is, exactly, whom she knows, and what she does is about as mysterious as the Budapest-based consulting firm of which she is the lone known employee — BAC Consulting KFT, alleged producer of the AR924 pagers that look like the same items made by a Taiwanese firm, Gold Apollo.Don’t look at us, Gold Apollo has insisted again and again, we’re just licensing them to that firm in Hungary, the manufacturer, but the plot gets ever more mysterious when it turns out BAC doesn’t seem to make anything, and its only known employee is Ms. Bársony-Arcidiacono, who may be its owner. Her Ph.D., purportedly from the London School of Economics, covers areas of expertise that have nothing to do with developing, fabricating or purveying mobile communications devices.Ms. Bársony-Arcidiacono proudly lists what she’s good at beneath a mug shot of herself flaunting a faint smile rivaling that of the Mona Lisa. “The nicest and noblest thing is Nature itself,” she says on her profile, quoting Leonardo DaVinci. “I have with love devoted myself to science and development.”“I am a scientist using my diverse background to work on international environmental, political and humanitarian projects (disaster risk reduction systems, water, biodiversity, resilience, mitigation, adaptation, conflicts, complex emergencies, etc),” she writes. “I enjoy working in a multicultural environment where diversity, integrity and respect are valued.”Surely BAC would give further clues, considering that no less a corporate potentate than the Gold Apollo chairman, Hsu Ching-kuang, is saying in Taipei that he licensed BAC Consulting KFT three years ago to make pagers looking like those made by Gold Apollo.There’s no trace, however, of any such deal with BAC Consulting. AFP quoted a Hungarian government spokesman as saying on X that the company is strictly “a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary” and posing “no national security risk.”Okay, “I don’t make the pagers,” Ms. Bársony-Arcidiacono told NBC News. “I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong.” Otherwise, BAC is not at all shy about boasting of all it can do in much the same tone as Ms. Bársony-Arcidiacono’s own litany of accomplishments.“With over a decade of consulting experience, we are on an exciting and rewarding journey with our network of passionate experts with a hunger for innovation and discovery for the Environment, Innovation & Development, and International affairs,” the blurb that follows the listing of Ms. Bársony-Arcidiacono’s skills says.“We offer in-depth consulting guiding our client’s journey toward innovation, sustainability, and equity while ensuring connection, and authenticity,” says BAC. “Our main services are business development, management consultancy, strategy and partnership planning.”BAC’s website, which is now offline, previously featured a list of “services provided” list beneath Ms. Bársony-Arcidiacono’s name in bullet points: “Strategic Planning, Business Consulting, Management Consulting, Leadership Development. Environmental Consulting, Research Skills, Political Consulting, Public Relation, Telecommunications.”The firm said it has “2-10 employees” and “5 associated members” who’ve listed BAC Consulting as their current workplace on their profile.

The Mystery Behind the Woman Linked to the Pagers That Exploded Across Lebanon

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