"Saudi Arabia needs you more than the U.S."... Signs of Saudi royal family, military support for OpenAI employee accused of eavesdropping

U.S. Federal Prosecutors Seek Continued Detention

A Saudi national detained on suspicion of installing a listening device in a conference room used by OpenAI executives was found to have received support from the Saudi royal family and military. U.S. prosecutors have asked that he remain in custody, citing the risk that he could flee abroad.

On October 19, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing a motion to keep him detained that federal prosecutors filed with the court, that Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a former OpenAI engineer and the defendant, had contacted a member of the Saudi royal family several times via WhatsApp from last year through this year.

Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, who worked as an OpenAI engineer, looks behind a television fitted with a recording device in a conference room at OpenAI's office in San Francisco, California, U.S. San Francisco, U.S. = Reuters-Yonhap.

The royal family member proposed that Alfozan join a new artificial intelligence (AI) venture in Saudi Arabia. He told Alfozan, “Saudi Arabia needs you more than the United States does,” and Alfozan reportedly agreed, replying, “100%.” However, Alfozan was also said to have indicated that he would not leave the company until he could exercise the stock options he had received from OpenAI.

Investigators also found that the Saudi military provided direct assistance as Alfozan’s wife and son fled the United States shortly after he was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on October 9. The Saudi government initially paid for their airline tickets, but the flight was canceled. A Saudi military official is said to have then rebooked business-class tickets to Qatar. The WSJ reported that the official was the brother-in-law of Alfozan’s wife.

Citing these circumstances, prosecutors argued that Alfozan posed a flight risk and should remain in custody until trial. They particularly pointed to the fact that meetings with government officials had been held in the conference room where the listening device was installed, saying, “The defendant’s actions could pose a risk to U.S. national security.”

Alfozan is accused of personally installing a listening device he had modified behind a television in a key conference room on September 28. The room is used for meetings attended by OpenAI executives, government officials and external partners.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.