A Bulgarian company handed over the pagers to Hezbollah, the Hungarian company was only used on paper, writes the Hungarian publication "Telex", citing sources familiar with the case.
A Sofia-based company bought the pagers from Taiwan, which were subsequently sold to Hezbollah, the publication claimed, adding that the devices were never located in Hungary. This information has meanwhile been officially confirmed by the Hungarian government.
"The devices were never in Hungary"
"The position of the Hungarian government on the issue of pagers: The authorities have confirmed that the company in question is a commercial intermediary that does not have a manufacturing or operational site in Hungary. It has one manager registered at the address it declares, and the said devices have never been in Hungary. In further investigations, the Hungarian national security services are cooperating with all relevant international partner agencies and organizations. For Hungary, this case does not pose a risk to national security," Zoltan Kovacs, spokesman for the "Orbán" cabinet, announced on the X platform.
12 people were killed and at least 3,000 injured in Lebanon in a mass explosion of pagers by Hezbollah fighters. As early as yesterday, people in the know told the Reuters agency that the exploded pagers were the latest models that Hezbollah had acquired in the last few months.
After the mass explosions, Taiwanese pager manufacturer Gold Apollo said the devices were manufactured under license by Hungarian firm BAC Consulting. According to the Hungarian publication "Telex" however, BAC Consulting was merely an intermediary in the transaction.
Sources familiar with the case have informed the publication that the executive director of BAC Consulting, Cristiana Barsoni-Arcidiacono, is connected to the Bulgarian company Norta Global Ltd, headquartered in Sofia. It is Norta Global Ltd. is behind the deal, although on paper BAC Consulting has signed the contract with Gold Apollo, claims the Hungarian publication and specifies that the Bulgarian company in question has a Norwegian owner and was registered in April 2022.
"The Hungarian company was needed to cover the Bulgarian trail"
"According to our information, it is certain that Christiana Barsoni-Arcidiacono acted only as an intermediary, and the Hungarian company was only needed to cover the Bulgarian trail,", the publication also writes. "I don't make pagers. I'm just an intermediary," Christiana Barsoni-Arcidiacono told NBC News.
One of the assumptions so far is that the pagers ordered by Hezbollah may have been modified during their transport.
Meanwhile, DANS announced in an official announcement that no customs operations with the targeted goods were carried out through the territory of Bulgaria. DANS is carrying out joint inspections with the National Revenue Agency and the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the complicity of the company registered in Bulgaria in the supply of communication equipment for Hezbollah, according to the announcement of DANS.
And the "New York Times" writes that at least three fake companies, including the Hungarian one named by the Taiwanese manufacturer, have been registered by the Israeli special services. This happened during the construction of a network, with the help of which the operation was prepared, triggered by the explosion of thousands of pagers in Lebanon, the publication claims, citing its intelligence sources.