The Taiwanese company Gold Apollo claims that BAC, the firm allegedly responsible for manufacturing the pagers that exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday, has gone underground. Attempts to contact BAC's offices were unsuccessful, and the one time phone contact was made, the company representative declined to comment and immediately hung up. Shortly afterward, BAC's official website went offline.
However, Cristiana Arcidiacono-Barsony, listed on the site as BAC’s CEO, denied any involvement in the affair during a call with an Italian news outlet. "I don’t make pagers. I’m just a broker. I think you’ve got the wrong person," she said, before cutting the call short.
The address listed on BAC's website led to what appeared to be a private residence in Budapest. On Wednesday, a simple A4 paper sign appeared on the door, listing companies operating in the building, including BAC Consulting. According to Hungarian reports, BAC was registered in 2022, and its 49-year-old CEO has a background in physics, with degrees from prestigious London institutions. She also worked with the European Union, UNESCO, and the UN’s education arm. While BAC's website notes its involvement in telecommunications, there is no mention of specific devices or pagers.
BAC's name surfaced after Gold Apollo President Hsu Ching-Kuang held a press conference to distance his company from the explosions. "This product is not ours," Hsu told reporters at the company's headquarters in New Taipei City, explaining that the AR-924 pagers were manufactured and sold by BAC. "We only provide the brand name for approval; we have no involvement in the design or production," Gold Apollo said in a statement.
Initially, Hsu refused to disclose BAC’s location, but it later emerged that the company operates out of Budapest, Hungary. He further revealed that the agreement between Gold Apollo and BAC has been in place for three years, and that BAC was responsible for manufacturing the pagers that exploded. When pressed for additional details, Hsu declined to provide the terms of the agreement with BAC, but hinted at past payment issues, stating, "The payments were very strange," and noting that they had been routed through the Middle East.
BAC's website, which features generic images and text, describes Bressoni-Arcidiacono as an expert in consultancy services across several fields, including environmental, development, and international relations. However, there is little detail on the company's specific projects or clients. The site claims the European Union is a client, though the attached descriptions are vague, consisting of general marketing language. Another project refers to BAC’s involvement in developing technology and a “business bridge” in Asia, but again, without specifics or named clients. A European delegation is also listed as a client, but the project page is similarly sparse, filled with clichéd management and marketing slogans.