Saudi military official paid for OpenAI ‘spy’s’ wife and son to fly back to kingdom: docs | Latest Tech News
An accused OpenAI spy obtained help from a member of the Saudi military in trying to ship his household back to the dominion just before his arrest for allegedly bugging the company’s convention rooms, according to federal prosecutors.
Ex-OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was in common contact with a member of the Saudi royal household — and obtained assist from authorities officers as he allegedly hatched a scheme to report high-level conferences at the main AI firm, prosecutors claimed in a court submitting unsealed Sunday night.
Abdulrahman Alfozan allegedly obtained help from a member of the Saudi military to get his household back to the dominion before his arrest for spying. X/@alfozan
“The defendant went to significant lengths to create customized, encrypted recording devices to secretly record highly sensitive meetings involving senior OpenAI personnel and executives, high-level business counterparts, and government officials, all while communicating with individuals of significance in Saudi Arabia and pursuing opportunities in — and making plans to travel to — Saudi Arabia,” US attorneys wrote in a submitting searching for Alfozan’s detention.
A Saudi military official bought a one-way, business class ticket for Alfozan’s wife and son, who had deliberate to transfer back to Saudi Arabia with Alfozan becoming a member of them at a later date, according to prosecutors.
Alfozan’s wife, Lujain Alassaf, and their younger son left the nation 36 hours after his arrest, they said.
“He had intended to fly from San Francisco to Riyadh (via Istanbul) with his wife and son on a one-way ticket on October 12, 2026. Having been arrested by the FBI three days prior, the defendant
did not make that flight,” the submitting read.
Prosecutors say Alfozan’s alleged close ties to Saudi officers didn’t stop there.
H.H. Prince Khalid Bin Bader Al Saud is pictured in an undated picture. LinkedIn/khalid-bin-bader-al-saud-9099011b6
A person described as Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national employed as an OpenAI engineer, seems behind a tv where a recording system had been positioned in a convention room at OpenAI places of work in San Francisco, in a still image from surveillance video included in a charging doc, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. via REUTERS
The facade of OpenAI places of work is pictured in Mission Bay, San Francisco, California, Dec. 11, 2025. Gado via Getty Images
A Saudi royal tried to recruit Alfozan for an AI-related place, according to a textual content message cited by prosecutors.
“Saudi needs you more then the US!” the royal allegedly wrote, to which Alfozan reportedly replied: “100.”
The San Francisco engineer, who was fired from OpenAI, is scheduled to seem in court Monday.
In addition to his OpenAI function, Alfozan was listed as a enterprise companion at RAED Ventures in Riyadh alongside Prince Khalid bin Bader Al Saud, a member of the Saudi royal household.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, an worker of OpenAI, poses for a picture. Instagram/alfozan
The officers who have been allegedly in contact with Alfozan and his household weren’t named.
After getting technical levels from UC Berkeley and MIT, Alfozan spent a decade working in Silicon Valley and joined OpenAI last yr —incomes a hefty wage of $385,000 plus a new rent equity grant of $2,200,000 in revenue participation items, per court docs.
Alfozan was accused on Oct. 9 of planting a tiny recording system in government convention rooms at OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters — wrapping the system in toilet paper and stuffing it in a USB port on the back of a TV in a convention room.
The engineer also allegedly used chatbots to plot to tried secret recordings, asking about OpenAI’s building addresses, assembly room capacities and calendars, authorities said.
He even requested data about the places of “leadership and exec,” per the criticism, and another chat account linked to his wife included queries on methods to set up and disguise recording devices.
The alleged trickery was revealed when OpenAI officers found small devices with the branding of Seeed Studio, a company that provides AI recording merchandise, at their places of work.
Footage recovered by federal brokers reveals Alfozan lurking around an OpenAI convention room where execs held confidential discussions about proprietary research, OpenAI’s technical capabilities, its authorities relationships and more.
A company spokesperson beforehand told The California Post that there was no signal Alfozan inappropriately obtained model weights, source code or buyer data.
“We take protecting our technology, data, and people seriously, and as a matter of national importance. Our security program is designed to protect against a wide range of threat actors, from insider risks to cybercriminals to nation states, and this case is an example of how AI can help address these sophisticated security threats,” OpenAI said.
Citing national security, the main AI firm has warned its staff to beware of overseas spies who could attempt to seduce them in order to receive company secrets and techniques, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The press workplace of the Saudi authorities didn’t immediately reply to a request for remark.
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