Prosecutors allege Saudi government backed former OpenAI engineer accused of planting recorder

New court filings allege former OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan had “considerable support” from the Saudi government, including contact with a member of the royal family. Prosecutors say this support, along with plans for his family to leave the United States, makes him a flight risk and argue he should be held pending trial.

Alfozan, 35, is accused of planting a recorder behind a television in an OpenAI meeting room where executives met government officials. The company found the device on 30 September, and footage reportedly showed him looking behind the television on 5 October; he was arrested on 9 October. Prosecutors say his wife and son flew to Doha the next day on a one-way business-class ticket paid for by a Saudi military official; if convicted, Alfozan faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.