Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national and former OpenAI software engineer, is accused of planting a recording device in an executive conference room at the company's San Francisco headquarters. Prosecutors allege that Alfozan also used OpenAI tools to search for meetings involving Saudi officials.
Federal prosecutors state that Alfozan was in frequent communication with an unnamed member of the Saudi royal family. According to court filings, a Saudi military official paid for business-class tickets for Alfozan's wife and infant son to leave the United States for Saudi Arabia in October, a day after Alfozan's arrest.
A federal judge has ordered Alfozan to remain in custody after the Justice Department argued that he is a flight risk. This determination was based on his contacts with Saudi royalty and the permanent relocation of his family. Although the Saudi government offered to cover his bail, the judge likened the offer to a blank check and denied the request for his release.