Ex-OpenAI Engineer Accused of Planting Listening Device Had Ties to Saudi Royal Family
Federal prosecutors reveal former OpenAI engineer accused of planting a secret listening device was in contact with a Saudi royal and planning to flee.
POLICY WIRE — Washington, D.C. — Federal prosecutors revealed in a court memorandum that a former OpenAI engineer accused of installing a sophisticated listening device in an executive conference room was in close communication with a member of the Saudi royal family and was preparing to leave the United States for Riyadh.
Abdulrahman Alfozan allegedly utilized artificial intelligence tools to aid him in developing encrypted recording devices and locating specific meeting rooms used by business partners, government officials, and OpenAI executives. When he joined the company in July 2025, Alfozan commanded an annual salary of $385,000 alongside a $2.2 million equity grant.
According to an 11-page court filing submitted by prosecutors, investigators uncovered evidence indicating that Alfozan may have intended to deploy additional recording units across OpenAI offices. The document also outlined WhatsApp communications between the suspect and an unidentified Saudi royal who continuously urged him to return to the kingdom and participate in a domestic AI initiative.
Additional details in the filing included photographs highlighting other potential surveillance areas, internal search logs regarding meetings between OpenAI and Saudi government officials, and personal notes indicating plans to retrieve the devices prior to his departure from the company. Investigators stated that on September 28, Alfozan attached a surreptitious audio recording device into a USB port on the back of a television inside an executive OpenAI conference room, where it remained for multiple days.
Court documents allege that Alfozan modified the hardware to prevent data transfers between the unit and the television itself, while also encrypting all content stored on the device’s microSD card. In the days leading up to the installation, authorities claim Alfozan utilized his wife’s AI chatbot account to research custom configurations for continuous audio recording, capturing microphone feeds, saving compressed WAV files, improving live listening capabilities, and adding browser access controls.
Prosecutors noted that meetings held inside that specific executive conference room frequently involve highly sensitive technical, commercial, and strategic details, including proprietary research and nonpublic data regarding OpenAI’s technological advancements, commercial partnerships, and government engagements. Investigators determined that around the time the device was active, OpenAI executives held discussions with government officials in that exact room, prompting prosecutors to argue that the suspect’s actions could threaten United States national security.
Further investigations of Alfozan’s mobile phone revealed images of at least one additional concealed recorder and electronic equipment placed inside other OpenAI meeting rooms. Throughout 2025 and 2026, prosecutors stated that Alfozan maintained frequent WhatsApp contact with a member of the Saudi Royal Family as recently as October 5, 2026, with the royal pressing him to join an emerging artificial intelligence initiative in Saudi Arabia by emphasizing that the nation needed him.
Alfozan agreed to the overtures but specified he would wait until his stock vested before leaving. Law enforcement subsequently arrested him on October 9, just three days before he was scheduled to board a one-way flight from San Francisco to Riyadh alongside his wife and infant son.
His wife and three-month-old son ultimately departed the country the following day utilizing business-class tickets purchased by a Saudi military official, according to prosecutorial filings. Prior to his arrest, Alfozan had arranged to take two months of parental leave beginning in October 2026.
Court records indicate that Alfozan had no prior criminal record, became a U.S. permanent resident in September 2020, and subsequently applied for citizenship, while OpenAI terminated his employment following the arrest. U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex Tse scheduled a detention hearing for Monday, with the government pressing for Alfozan to remain detained before trial due to his financial resources, global connections, and alleged assistance from foreign government officials that create a flight risk.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
