OpenAI engineer accused of spying kept frequent WhatsApp contact with Saudi royal

Federal prosecutors allege that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old former OpenAI engineer, secretly placed a listening device in a conference-room USB port in late September and maintained frequent WhatsApp contact with an unnamed Saudi royal throughout 2025 and 2026. The royal, who told Alfozan about a new Saudi AI program, repeatedly pressed him to sign on and inquired about his exit date from OpenAI, to which Alfozan replied he would stay until his stock vested.

The last message was sent on Oct. 5, four days before Alfozan’s arrest on Oct. 9. Prosecutors argue he is a flight risk, citing potential support from a foreign government lacking an extradition treaty with the United States. After his detention, his wife Lujain Alassaf and their three-month-old son were flown to Doha on a business-class ticket paid for by a Saudi military member. Alfozan’s lawyer seeks release on home detention with GPS monitoring, while the Saudi Consulate has indicated it will not issue travel documents during any release.