New details emerge on former OpenAI engineer accused of bugging a conference room

Prosecutors say Abdulrahman Alfozan was in ‘frequent communication’ with someone in Saudi Arabia’s royal family.

Attendees gather at the OpenAI DevDay 2026 conference, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in San Francisco. [Photo: Jeff Chiu/AP Photo]

A former OpenAI engineer charged with secretly installing a recording device in a conference room to glean company details had been “mere days” away from absconding to Saudi Arabia before his arrest last week, federal prosecutors revealed in new court filings.Abdulrahman Alfozan’s wife and young son also left the country the day after the 35-year-old Saudi national’s arrest, traveling on a one-way ticket booked and paid for by a Saudi military official, prosecutors said in a memo Sunday seeking his continued detention.“Ultimately, the defendant has little incentive to remain in the United States to see this case through,” federal prosecutors wrote. “He has ample resources —including his significant compensation from a decade of high-tech employment in the Bay Area and at least two bank accounts in Saudi Arabia — and what appears to be considerable support........

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