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Ex-OpenAI Engineer Detained in Spy Device Case as Saudi Royal Contacts Emerge

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Ex-OpenAI Engineer Detained in Spy Device Case as Saudi Royal Contacts Emerge

A U.S. court on Monday granted the U.S. government's request to detain a former OpenAI engineer accused of planting a recording device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco office to allegedly steal sensitive secrets.

In a new court filing Sunday, prosecutors revealed that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national, was "in frequent communications via WhatsApp with a member of the Saudi Royal Family" throughout 2025 and 2026. Alfozan is said to have communicated with the Saudi royal as recently as October 5, 2026, four days before he was arrested.

"Among other things, the individual told the defendant that an artificial intelligence initiative was being launched in Saudi Arabia and wanted the defendant to join it," the filing reads. "In May 2026, the individual told the defendant, 'Saudi needs you more then [sic] the US!' to which the defendant responded '100,' indicating he agreed."

The Saudi Royal Family member is said to have repeatedly attempted to recruit Alfozan and even asked when he planned to leave OpenAI, to which the defendant said he wouldn't do so until his stock vested.

Alfozan joined OpenAI as an engineer around July 2025 with an annual base salary of $385,000. Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) revealed that he had been arrested for allegedly inserting a stealthy audio recording device into a USB port on the back of a television in the executive conference room to capture sensitive conversations.

The defendant is also said to have modified the device to prevent data transfer between it and the television and encrypted the content stored on the device's microSD card.


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