![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2300507519-e1792439546338.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A federal judge on Monday ordered a former OpenAI engineer accused of bugging an executive conference room to stay in jail, after questioning whether a $1 million bond the Saudi government offered to guarantee would bring him back if he fled.<\/p>\n
Abdulrahman Alfozan, the 35-year-old former OpenAI engineer, appeared in court today wearing an orange jumpsuit and white face mask while escorted by two U.S. marshals. He will remain in federal custody until his next court date, a preliminary hearing on Nov. 6. He has been in jail since the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested him on Oct. 9, alleging he planted the device in a conference room where executives, and sometimes government officials, discussed sensitive information, on Sept. 28.<\/p>\n
Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse said a $1 million bond had to be weighed against the possibility that Alfozan \u201cpotentially has access to much greater wealth.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOnce he leaves, there\u2019s no getting him back, and that\u2019s why this is a bigger case,\u201d Tse said in the courtroom Monday morning.<\/p>\n
OpenAI terminated Alfozan\u2019s employment on Oct. 9, although Alfozan\u2019s lawyer said Monday in court the company never formally told him that. However, per his defense motion, he was told before his arrest that he had been placed on administrative leave. Tse noted that OpenAI would not have fired him if it had no concern about what it found. <\/p>\n
Fortune <\/em>was in the San Francisco courtroom for the hearing, as were about 60 others, including a group of high school students who had come to witness a case involving one of the most prominent companies in the world.<\/p>\n Ahead of the court hearing Monday, both prosecutors for the federal government and the defense, Alfozan\u2019s attorney William Pernik, filed court documents revealing new details about the case. Alfozan sought release from federal custody, with supervision, such as an ankle monitor, while the U.S. argued there was reason to believe he would leave the country and that he posed a danger to the community and to U.S. national security.<\/p>\n Alfozan faces one count of using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, which carries a maximum of five years in prison. He was charged by criminal complaint and has not been indicted or entered a plea. The complaint does not charge him with espionage, theft of trade secrets or acting as an agent of a foreign government, a point his defense stressed in its motion. OpenAI has said it has \u201cno indications\u201d that he inappropriately accessed or took model weights, source code or customer data.<\/p>\n The filings reveal far more than has been known to date about Alfozan and some of the most controversial details of the case, including why Alfozan had a one-way flight booked to Saudi Arabia three days after his arrest. Alfozan\u2019s lawyer said he is a citizen of Saudi Arabia, although he has been in the U.S. for 15 years, got his green card in 2020, and joined OpenAI in 2025.<\/p>\n Alfozan booked the flight to Saudi Arabia on Sept. 13, according to the defense motion, along with his wife, also a Saudi national, and 3-month-old baby. The economy fare for all three cost $1,897.59 and could be changed for a $180 fee, the defense said, adding it wasn\u2019t unusual for their client: Alfozan often books one-way tickets to allow for scheduling flexibility around his work schedule, the defense motion says. In fact, 70% (96 of 138) of the airline bookings \u201cin his email since January 2021 were one-way tickets.\u201d His naturalization application lists 25 trips abroad between 2020 and 2025, 20 of which included Saudi Arabia, and he returned from every one, according to the defense.<\/p>\n As for why the date of Oct. 12, Alfozan booked it then because that\u2019s the day his wife\u2019s 60-day grace period ended after her work permit in the U.S. expired on Aug. 13. Since giving birth, she has \u201cstruggled with postpartum depression and anxiety,\u201d the defense motion says. Alfozan filed for paternity leave from OpenAI, set for Oct. 19 to Dec. 20, after which he planned to return to the Bay Area and his role at OpenAI.<\/p>\n After Alfozan\u2019s arrest, his wife allegedly told authorities that she and their baby intended to permanently move to Saudi Arabia, according to the court filing. She told them her husband intended to move there at some point to be with them, but for now, was spending two months of his paternity leave in the country before returning to the U.S. In court Monday, however, the defense said she now plans to return to the U.S. on a temporary visa, short-term B-1 visa. The defense also said she left the U.S. rather than overstay her visa.<\/p>\n That is consistent with a letter one of Alfozan\u2019s friends submitted for the defense motion, in which the friend says he spoke to Alfozan about his plan to continue working in the U.S. and supporting his wife and baby returned to Saudi. <\/p>\n As further evidence of Alfozan\u2019s intent to return to the U.S., his lawyer notes that on Sept. 26, two days before he allegedly planted the device, Alfozan registered to attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), a convention in Las Vegas scheduled in early January 2027.<\/p>\n In court, Pernik argued that Alfozan stayed in the country for about eight to 10 days after OpenAI confronted him. \u201cIf he really were an agent of a foreign government . . . why wouldn\u2019t he just leave right away,\u201d Pernik said in court.<\/p>\n The U.S. filing also reveals the results of a federal search of Alfozan\u2019s home and cellphone. They found \u201cseveral electronic components similar\u201d to the recording device Alfozan allegedly installed behind a TV in the conference room, and a second one OpenAI security staff found in his bag.<\/p>\n On Alfozan\u2019s iPhone were several photographs, dated from Sept. 22-28, 2026, depicting another recording device. Other photos showed what appeared to be the input and output panels on televisions and other devices in \u201cvarious locations in OpenAI buildings\u201d including another conference room where \u201csensitive meetings\u201d frequently occurred, according to the filing. This suggested Alfozan \u201chad done reconnaissance at OpenAI to determine where he might install additional devices,\u201d the U.S. filing says.<\/p>\n Also on Alfozan\u2019s iPhone was a note he had deleted from Sept. 2026, which had links to different recording devices, including ones made by Seeed Studio, the brand of device Alfozan allegedly put in the conference room and found at his residence. <\/p>\n Two other notes stood out. One titled \u201cRiyadh tasks,\u201d last modified Sept. 13\u2014the day he booked the flight\u2014listed finding an apartment and a job for his wife and getting a Saudi passport for his son. Another, titled \u201cOpenAI leave\u201d and last modified Oct. 7, suggested he planned an \u201c[e]arly \u2026 pick up\u201d of the devices and extending his leave \u201cto full,\u201d according to the U.S. filing. His wife also told FBI agents she had seen her ChatGPT account open on her husband\u2019s laptop, the filing says.<\/p>\n In court, Pernik disputed the government\u2019s account of the room. \u201cThis was an open room where anyone could walk in,\u201d he said, adding that Alfozan held meetings and led teams there. The complaint, however, says Alfozan had no authority to enter the room or take part in meetings there.<\/p>\n \u201cOpenAI encouraged Mr. Alfozan to be involved with Saudi Arabia,\u201d Pernik said.<\/p>\n Prosecutors said in court they don\u2019t know what information Alfozan may have tried to take out of OpenAI and the U.S. \u201cThat is the concern, that something is going to leave OpenAI and the U.S., and quite frankly we don\u2019t even know what that is,\u201d Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Parker said.<\/p>\n The court filings also reveal Alfozan\u2019s browser history, which allegedly show he accessed a folder called \u201cSaudi Gov Docs\u201d on Oct. 4, 2026. Between July 6 and Sept. 21, 2026, he queried an internal OpenAI productivity tool about which OpenAI staff could be suitable to attend a high-level informal meeting with ministers in Saudi Arabia, and about planned OpenAI visits to Saudi Arabia. He also asked the tool on Sept. 7 who at OpenAI may be likely to attend a meeting between the Saudi state-backed AI company HUMAIN and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) of Saudi Arabia at OpenAI.<\/p>\n He asked the tool about matters related to MCIT again on Sept. 8, about an upcoming Saudi MCIT visit on Sept. 9, as well as on Sept. 21. Alfozan\u2019s base salary at OpenAI was $385,000, (up from $325,000 when he was hired) plus a $2.2 million new-hire equity grant.<\/p>\n \u201cOpenAI encouraged Mr. Alfozan to be involved with Saudi Arabia,\u201d Pernik said in court.<\/p>\n Alfozan\u2019s wife and child left the U.S. within 36 hours of his arrest. They did not take the originally planned Oct. 12 flight. Instead, the Saudi government first booked and paid for another one-way ticket for her and their son to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 11. However, they also did not take that flight, but rather left a day earlier on Oct. 10 on another business class flight to Qatar booked and paid for by a member of the Saudi military, court documents say.<\/p>\n In court Monday, the defense specified that Alfozan\u2019s brother-in-law (his wife\u2019s sister\u2019s husband) booked the flight. He works in the Saudi government, and paid for the flight with his own money.<\/p>\n The Saudi Consulate General in Los Angeles said in an Oct. 14 letter, filed with the defense motion, that it stands ready to cover the full amount of any bail bond the court requires. It also told Pretrial Services in writing that it \u201cwill not issue any travel documents\u201d to Alfozan while he is on release. In court, Pernik said the Saudi government was willing to guarantee $1 million, \u201cgiving their full faith and credit,\u201d and would notify the State Department. Tse asked whether the offer amounted to Saudi Arabia keeping him in the U.S. so it wouldn\u2019t lose its money. Pernik said the relationship mattered more than the million dollars. <\/p>\n Alfozan was \u201cin frequent communication via WhatsApp with a member of the Saudi Royal Family,\u201d the U.S. alleges in its motion. The unnamed royal allegedly tried to recruit Alfozan for an AI initiative being launched in Saudi, and asked Alfozan when he would leave OpenAI. Alfozan allegedly said he wouldn\u2019t leave until his stock vested, the government\u2019s detention memo read.<\/p>\n Alfozan communicated with the unnamed royal as recently as Oct. 5, 2026, court documents say. In May 2026, the royal told Alfozan, \u201cSaudi needs you more then [sic] the US!\u201d Alfozan responded, \u201c100,\u201d indicating agreement.<\/p>\n Alfozan had applied in July to a program for young Saudi Arabian leaders, the Misk Foundation\u2019s \u201c2030 Leaders\u201d program, according to the U.S. filing. He had proceeded to the second stage of the process, and checked the status of his application, as recently as Sept. 4, filings say. The program would have required him to take part in person in Riyadh, the filing says.<\/p>\n At the same time, Alfozan was on the \u201cverge\u201d of getting U.S. citizenship, the defense motion says. A day after OpenAI found the device, on Oct. 1, 2026, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services notified him that his citizenship interview was set for Nov. 6, 2026. This was \u201ca long-held dream for the Alfozan family, as it is for so many immigrants,\u201d reads the defense motion. That interview has since been postponed because of the case, and his next court date is set for Nov. 6, the date of the original interview. The defense also told the court that Alfozan had worked and paid taxes in the U.S. for years, and had disclosed even traffic tickets on his citizenship application.<\/p>\n \u201cHis plan was always to return to the Bay Area, where his home, his career, and his community are,\u201d the defense motion says. \u201cThe evidence shows that Mr. Alfozan planned to accompany his wife and son to Saudi Arabia for his paternity leave and then return.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n #ExOpenAI #engineer #accused #bugging #office #stays #jail #prosecutors #allege #Saudi #ties<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A federal judge on Monday orde… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2566,4941,10203,7955,9164,10204,290,480,4788,962,3281,7038],"class_list":["post-7099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-accused","tag-allege","tag-bugging","tag-engineer","tag-exopenai","tag-jail","tag-office","tag-openai","tag-prosecutors","tag-saudi","tag-stays","tag-ties"],"yoast_head":"\nA one-way ticket to Saudi Arabia and potential plans to move back<\/h2>\n
Evidence found on his iPhone<\/h2>\n
Returning to Saudi Arabia<\/h2>\n