Pager explosions in Lebanon investigation: Trail leading back to Israel and phantom companies

Report by Rawad Taha, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

The mystery surrounding the pager explosions in Lebanon and the phantom companies linked to them remains unresolved. 

So far, all leads point to the possibility that Israel is responsible for the manufacturing of the devices and the involvement of fake companies. 

However, according to preliminary investigations, many individuals named in the case may have been unaware they were part of the conspiracy.
 
One key figure is Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, owner of the shell company BAC, which was granted manufacturing rights for the pagers by Taiwanese company Gold Apollo. 

Christiana was last seen at her Budapest apartment on Wednesday but is reportedly still in the country. She has undergone a series of interrogations by Hungarian authorities, who confirmed in their preliminary findings that the pagers were neither imported nor manufactured in Hungary.

Meanwhile, Rinson Jose, a Norwegian of Indian origin and owner of Norta Global, a company registered in Bulgaria, left Norway on Tuesday—the day of the explosions. According to a report by The Washington Post, his destination was the United States. 

Rinson had previously informed his company that he was traveling to attend the InBound24 conference focused on artificial intelligence and programming, which took place from Wednesday to Friday. 

Regardless, conference organizers confirmed that Rinson did not attend any sessions.

Were Rinson and Christiana unaware participants in the plot, or were they involved in the conspiracy? 

Investigations suggest that additional companies beyond BAC and Norta Global may be implicated, though their names have not yet been disclosed. 

Gold Apollo, the Taiwanese company, denied manufacturing the pagers, while preliminary reports from both Hungary and Bulgaria indicated that no production occurred on their soil.

The Washington Post quoted American and Western security officials saying that they are continuing to gather information. These officials speculate—though without concrete evidence—that the explosive devices may have been rigged inside Israel to avoid detection in any other country.

Did Israel indeed plant the explosives? Were the pagers also manufactured there? What route did the shipment take before arriving in Lebanon?