Norwegian national linked to Bulgarian company in investigations of pager attacks in Lebanon
On September 19, it was revealed that a Norwegian national is connected to a Bulgarian company implicated in the recent pager attacks in Lebanon. Norwegian police have confirmed that they are investigating this connection. The attacks, which occurred nationwide on Tuesday, resulted in multiple fatalities, although no group has claimed responsibility. There are allegations that Israel may be behind the attacks, which the Israeli president has denied.
The individual in question had a profile on an Israeli networking site for entrepreneurs. Although the profile has since been deleted, archives retrieved via WaybackMachine show it last existed on September 19. This profile was first archived on December 27, 2018. Notably, affiliates associated with the Israeli Defense Forces’ IT unit were listed among the networking site’s partners.
Despite the company’s claim of having a London address on its LinkedIn and Crunchbase profiles, no records of the business could be found in British company registries. Founded by Israeli entrepreneurs, the company has previously hosted events in Tel Aviv. Attempts to contact the company have so far gone unanswered.
The Norwegian man identified himself as an entrepreneur seeking like-minded partners for a startup, highlighting his experience with world-class startups and multinational companies while stating that he is based in Norway.
The Norwegian national operated both domestic and international websites for his enterprises. Similar to his deleted profile, the last content from these sites was archived on September 19. Presently, accessing the Norwegian website leads to a blank page.
The Bulgarian security service stated that none of the pagers used in the attacks were imported, exported, or produced in Bulgaria. A Taiwanese company has denied manufacturing the pagers, with a Hungarian firm asserting it merely acted as a broker. Both law enforcement and the Norwegian Intelligence Service have declined to comment on the matter.