Hezbollah device explosions: The unanswered questions

The BBC went to the registered office of BAC Consulting, situated in a residential area of the Hungarian capital, Budapest.

The address appeared to be shared by 12 other companies – and no-one in the building could tell us anything about BAC Consulting at all.

Officials in Hungary say the firm, which was first incorporated in 2022, was merely a “trading intermediary with no manufacturing or operational site” in the country.

A brochure for BAC, published on LinkedIn, lists eight organisations it claims to have worked with – including the UK Department for International Development (DfID).

The UK Foreign Office – which has taken on DfID’s responsibilities – told the BBC it was in the process of investigating. But based on initial conversations, it said it did not have any involvement with BAC.

BAC’s website listed one person as its chief executive and founder – Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono.

The BBC made several attempts to contact Ms Bársony-Arcidiacono, but were unable to reach her.

However, she did reportedly speak to NBC News, saying: “I don’t make the pagers. I am just the intermediate.”

So who is really behind BAC Consulting?

The New York Times has reported, external that the company was in fact a front for Israeli intelligence.

The newspaper, citing three Israeli officials, said that two other shell companies were created to help hide the identities of the people who were really producing the pagers: Israeli intelligence officers.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify these reports – but we do know that Bulgarian authorities have now begun investigating another company linked to BAC.

Bulgarian broadcaster bTV reported on Thursday that 1.6 million euros ($1.8m; £1.3m) connected to the device attacks in Lebanon passed through Bulgaria and was later sent to Hungary.