Ex-OpenAI worker accused of planting device had Saudi support says court filing
A Saudi national charged with secretly planting a recording device in one of OpenAI's meeting rooms has been accused of having considerable support from the Saudi government, according to a court filing, external in California. US prosecutors claimed Abdulrahman Alfozan, who worked for the AI firm, was in frequent communication... with a member of the Saudi royal family, and say a member of the country's military paid for a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia for his wife and son after his arrest. It was argued the 35-year-old engineer therefore posed a flight risk and should be detained, pending trial. The Saudi government did not immediately respond to BBC requests for comment. Alfozan had worked at OpenAI for around a year before he allegedly made his attempt to plant an audio recorder.
Oct-19-2026, 16:22:12 GMT