Prosecutors Say OpenAI Bugging Suspect Was in Touch With Saudi Royal Before Arrest
Federal prosecutors say Abdulrahman Alfozan, accused of hiding a recorder in an OpenAI conference room, was in frequent WhatsApp contact with a member of the Saudi royal family, including four days before his arrest.
According to the filing, the royal told Alfozan that an artificial intelligence initiative was being launched in Saudi Arabia and urged him to join it. In May 2026, the person wrote, "Saudi needs you more then [sic] the US!" and Alfozan replied "100," indicating agreement, prosecutors said. The person repeatedly tried to recruit him and asked when he planned to leave OpenAI; Alfozan said he would not leave until his stock vested, the filing states. Prosecutors did not identify the royal, did not say how Alfozan knew the person, and did not allege that the royal directed him to install the recorder or take information from OpenAI.
Alfozan, who lives near San Francisco International Airport, is a venture partner at the Saudi venture capital firm Raed Ventures. Prince Khalid bin Bader Al Saud joined Raed as a venture partner in 2025, though the Sunday filing did not name the prince or say whether the royal who communicated with Alfozan had ties to the firm.
Prosecutors said that around the time Alfozan allegedly hid the device on Sept. 28 in the back of a television in the conference room, "OpenAI executives met with government officials in that very room," and argued his conduct "could pose a danger to the national security of the United States." FBI Director Kash Patel said when the arrest was announced on Oct. 13 that Alfozan concealed the recording device to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company's AI technology. He is charged with using or endeavoring to use an electronic, mechanical or other device to intercept oral communications, which carries a maximum of five years in prison. OpenAI fired him after the arrest.
The filing also described arrangements for Alfozan's family after his arrest upended plans for the couple and their three-month-old son to fly together to Saudi Arabia on Oct. 12. Prosecutors said the Saudi government, and shortly afterward a member of the Saudi military, booked separate flights for his wife, Lujain Alassaf, and the baby out of the United States; the two flew business class from San Francisco to Doha, Qatar, on Oct. 10 on a ticket paid for by the unidentified military member.
Prosecutors argued Alfozan is a flight risk, citing "ample resources" and what they described as considerable support from a foreign government that has no extradition treaty with the United States, limitless resources and the ability to provide extraordinary travel assistance. "He has the connections needed not only to flee, but to build a new life in Saudi Arabia," they wrote.
Alfozan's lawyer, William Pernik, asked in a separate filing that he be released to home detention with GPS monitoring and a bond co-signed by others and "supported by the written undertaking of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." The Saudi embassy in Washington has not responded to CNBC requests for comment since the arrest was announced on Oct. 13.
Prosecutors said Alfozan has spent about 15 years in the United States, worked at several technology companies including Meta and received a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2025. He is a legal permanent resident who has applied for naturalization. OpenAI hired him in July 2025 at an annual base salary of $325,000, later raised to $385,000, along with a new-hire equity grant of $2.2 million in profit participating units, the filing said.