5 minPolitics
Prosecutors Say Saudi Officials Helped Accused OpenAI Spy's Family Leave US
Federal prosecutors allege that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a former OpenAI engineer accused of planting recording devices in company facilities, was in contact with Saudi royalty and that Saudi officials arranged travel for his wife and infant son after his arrest.
Federal prosecutors say a former OpenAI engineer accused of hiding recording devices inside the company's offices was in frequent contact with a member of the Saudi royal family and that Saudi government officials helped arrange international travel for his wife and three-month-old son shortly after his arrest.
The detention filing submitted Sunday does not allege that Saudi Arabia directed the alleged surveillance. But prosecutors cited the travel arrangements and Alfozan's ties to the kingdom as evidence that he could receive substantial assistance from a foreign government if released while the investigation continues.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, a legal permanent resident who earned $385,000 a year at OpenAI, was arrested by the FBI on Oct. 9, 2026. At the time, he held one-way tickets from San Francisco to Riyadh for Oct. 12 and was scheduled to begin two months of parental leave.
According to the filing, his wife and infant son initially had a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia booked and paid for by the Saudi government. A Saudi military official then purchased business-class tickets for the pair en route to Qatar, and they departed San Francisco roughly 36 hours after Alfozan's arrest.
Prosecutors said Alfozan had been in frequent contact with an unidentified member of the Saudi royal family who repeatedly sought to recruit him for an artificial intelligence initiative in the kingdom and asked when he planned to leave OpenAI. In May, the royal wrote, «Saudi needs you more then [sic] the US!» Alfozan replied «100,» which prosecutors interpreted as agreement. He said he would not leave until his stock vested.
He was also pursuing other opportunities in Saudi Arabia, including applying to the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation's «2030 Leaders» program, according to the filing.
Investigators say Alfozan showed particular interest in OpenAI's dealings with Saudi Arabia. His browsing history showed he accessed a folder titled «Saudi Gov Docs» on Oct. 4, 2026, and used an internal OpenAI tool to search for engagements involving the kingdom's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Among the subjects he searched were planned OpenAI visits to Saudi Arabia, an upcoming visit by the Saudi ministry and a meeting labeled «HUMAIN x MCIT @OpenAI.»
Prosecutors allege that Alfozan spent weeks researching how to construct an encrypted recording device with live-listening capabilities and where inside OpenAI he could capture sensitive conversations. He allegedly used an internal tool to identify meeting rooms used by executives and outside partners before concealing a customized audio recorder behind a television in an executive conference room in late September.
The room regularly hosted leadership meetings, technical and product discussions, and briefings with government officials and business partners. Conversations frequently involved proprietary research, OpenAI's technical capabilities, strategic decisions, government engagements and commercial relationships, according to prosecutors. Government officials met with OpenAI executives in the room around the time of the alleged surveillance, and prosecutors warned that Alfozan's conduct «could pose a danger to the national security of the United States.»
OpenAI security personnel discovered a second similar recorder inside a bag Alfozan left in a printer room. Searches of his home and electronic devices uncovered similar components and photographs that appeared to show reconnaissance of other locations inside OpenAI, including another conference room used for sensitive meetings.
The investigation remains ongoing and «may result in additional serious charges,» prosecutors said. Investigators are examining whether Alfozan sought to record sensitive meetings to advance his own business interests, aid a foreign government or both.
Prosecutors also pointed to a previous federal case in which they alleged that a former Twitter employee received Saudi assistance leaving the United States after being confronted over his access to internal user data. After Twitter confronted employee Ali Alzabarah in 2015, prosecutors alleged, calls were exchanged with a Saudi foreign official and the Saudi consul general in Los Angeles to coordinate a flight to Saudi Arabia the following day. Alzabarah later went to work for the Misk Foundation, and charges against him remain pending.
Prosecutors argued that Alfozan similarly has access to «considerable support from a foreign government» with no extradition treaty with the United States and the resources to provide extraordinary travel assistance.
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