The Hungarian government has categorically denied involvement in the production of explosive beepers supplied to Hezbollah.
This was reported by the Telegram channel “Today in Israel.”
The Hungarian company mentioned in the incident acted only as an intermediary, according to spokesman Zoltán Kovacs. According to him, there were no production facilities at its registered office and management was carried out by a single employee.
Kovacs also stressed that these devices were never located on Hungarian territory. In the original, his words read as follows: “These devices have never been on Hungarian territory.”
Earlier, Kursor reported on Hungary’s possible involvement in the bombing of Hezbollah pagers.
In a surprising turn of events, Taiwanese company Gold Apollo announced that it would withdraw Hezbollah pagers bearing its logo. In an official statement, the company clarified that the actual manufacturer of these devices is the Hungarian company BAC, which operates under license. Gold Apollo noted that the agreement grants the right to use its trademark to sell products in certain regions, but the responsibility for the development and production of the devices lies entirely with BAC. “Our company is not involved in the development or production of this product,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the BAC investigation raises further questions. In particular, it is suggested that the Hungarian company could be a cover for those responsible for this large operation involving the transfer of pagers to the Lebanese group.
Gold Apollo CEO Hsu Ching-kuang told reporters in Taipei that his company has been cooperating with BAC for the past three years. However, the Associated Press notes that Xu was unable to provide documents confirming this business relationship. He did mention one interesting detail, however: he said that BAC’s “payment methods were quite strange” as payments came through the Middle East, but Xu declined to reveal any further details.
The investigation into BAC has only increased the mystery of the company. The company’s website is not working and the company’s registered office is a two-storey private house. The sole owner of BAC is 49-year-old Christian Arcidiacono-Barsony, who has Italian and Hungarian roots. An analysis of his activities also raises questions: although the company was registered in 2022, Arcidiacono claims to have been running BAC since 2019. In addition, his address in Budapest is an ordinary apartment, which clearly does not correspond to the scale of the company’s planned activities.
Barsogne-Arcidiacono has an impressive CV: a PhD from University College London, a postdoctoral fellowship at the London School of Economics and work as a consultant for organisations including the European Commission and UNESCO. However, his connection to BAC, which produces pagers, remains a mystery and his role in this story is still not entirely clear.
