Ex-OpenAI employee accused of planting device appears to have Saudi backing, court filing shows

WASHINGTON, Oct 19 : An ex-OpenAI employee accused of planting a recording device in an executive conference room at the AI company appears to have received considerable support from the Saudi government, a court filing showed on Monday.US prosecutors allege that the defendant, Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was in


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Ex-OpenAI employee accused of planting device appears to have Saudi backing, court filing shows

Ex-OpenAI employee accused of planting device appears to have Saudi backing, court filing shows

A handout photo shows what the US Justice Department says is Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national employed as an OpenAI engineer, checking a hidden audio recording device in an executive conference room at the AI company, at a location given as San Francisco, California, US, October 5, 2026. US Department of Justice/Handout via REUTERS

Ex-OpenAI employee accused of planting device appears to have Saudi backing, court filing shows

A device, which the US Justice Department says is a hidden audio recording device installed in an OpenAI executive conference room by Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national employed as an engineer at the AI company, at a location given as San Francisco, California, US, in this combination handout photo released October 13, 2026. US Department of Justice/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY

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WASHINGTON, Oct 19 : An ex-OpenAI employee accused of planting a recording device in an executive conference room at the AI company appears to have received considerable support from the Saudi government, a court filing showed on Monday.

US prosecutors allege that the defendant, Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was in frequent communication with an unnamed member of the Saudi Royal family and that a member of the Saudi military paid for a one-way plane ticket for Alfozan’s wife and son to return to Saudi Arabia, according to the court document.

Prosecutors made those allegations as they asked a federal judge to keep Alfozan in US custody to await trial, arguing he is a flight risk.

The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Source: Reuters

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