# Ex-OpenAI worker accused of planting recorder had Saudi support, court filing says

https://mins.news/en/item/106606

- BBC News, 2026-10-19 16:22 UTC
- Tech
- Original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6gel2dlyxvyo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

> US prosecutors say former OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan was in frequent contact with a Saudi royal family member and that a Saudi military official paid for his wife and son to fly to Qatar on a one-way business-class ticket. They argued he posed a flight risk and that his alleged actions could threaten US national security. Alfozan is charged with secretly placing a recording device in an OpenAI meeting room and faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

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