FBI considering espionage case against Saudi OpenAI suspect: Report
FBI considering espionage case against Saudi OpenAI suspect: Report Submitted by MEE staff on Mon, 10/26/2026 - 14:51 Engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan is accused of secretly recording conversations in the company's San Francisco conference room A man described as Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national employed as an OpenAI engineer, looks behind a TV where a recording device had been placed in OpenAI…
FBI is mulling an espionage case against Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi engineer working at OpenAI. Alfozan allegedly covertly recorded conversations in the company's San Francisco conference room. The FBI is considering adding an economic espionage charge against Alfozan, who may have attempted to share information with the Saudi government.
Alfozan, 35, faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted of violating a federal recording statute. The probe revolves around whether Alfozan's actions were driven by corporate espionage or state-sponsored spying. Alfozan had frequent communications via WhatsApp with a member of the Saudi royal family, who supposedly tried to recruit him for an AI initiative in Saudi Arabia.
Alfozan was arrested earlier this month for hiding a recording device in a TV behind a conference room door used by senior executives at OpenAI's headquarters.
Written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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