OpenAI engineer arrested for allegedly installing listening device and contacting Saudi royal
U.S. prosecutors say an OpenAI employee placed a covert audio device in a conference room, communicated with a Saudi royal family member, and was detained before a planned trip to Saudi Arabia.
A San Francisco federal detention memo alleges that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi-national engineer at OpenAI, installed a listening device inside a television’s USB port in a conference room used for executive and government briefings. The memo states that Alfozan communicated with a member of the Saudi royal family via WhatsApp, including messages in October 2026 about a Saudi artificial-intelligence initiative.
The Justice Department said the conduct could pose a "danger" to national security and that Alfozan could face additional serious charges. He was arrested days before a scheduled one-way flight to Saudi Arabia for parental leave. A Saudi military official reportedly booked and paid for a separate flight for Alfozan’s wife and son.
OpenAI confirmed it identified Alfozan as the individual who placed the device, referred the matter to the FBI, and terminated his employment. The company said it had no evidence that model weights, source code, or customer data were accessed or exfiltrated.
Alfozan is expected to appear in federal court on Monday, where a judge will decide whether he can be held pending trial. Prosecutors noted a note titled "Riyadh tasks" found on his computer, listing personal arrangements for his family in Saudi Arabia, and cited communications in which the royal contact urged him to join a Saudi AI program.
"We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest," OpenAI said in a statement.
FBI agents reported that Alfozan’s wife indicated the family intended to relocate permanently to Saudi Arabia after a brief return to the United States, and that she and her son traveled to Doha on a one-way, business-class ticket on October 10, 2026.