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Judge keeps accused ex-OpenAI engineer in jail over flight risk
Prosecutors say the engineer charged over a hidden microphone was in frequent contact with a Saudi royal, and Saudi Arabia’s consulate offered to pay his bail.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, the former OpenAI engineer charged with hiding a recording device in an executive meeting room, stays in jail. A federal judge in San Francisco refused him bail on Monday 19 October 2026, saying the risk he would flee was significant, CNBC reports. He is presumed innocent. We reported on 16 October that he had booked a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia. His lawyer told the court he has lived in the US for about 15 years, holds permanent residency and has applied for citizenship.
A detention memo filed on Sunday adds new claims. In its account, he was in frequent WhatsApp contact in 2025 and 2026 with an unnamed member of the Saudi royal family, who kept urging him to join an AI project in the kingdom. The filing does not say the royal directed him to plant the device. Prosecutors also say OpenAI executives met government officials in that room around the time of the alleged bugging, and heavier charges may follow.
Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Los Angeles offered to cover his full bail. Magistrate Judge Alex Tse called that “problematic” and noted the two countries have no extradition treaty. His lawyers proposed release to his home under electronic monitoring, backed by nearly all the family’s money, about $1 million of it in an investment account, Business Insider reports. His next hearing is on 6 November.
For AI labs, the case shows prosecutors treating a bugged meeting room as a possible threat to national security.
Earlier on this story: Accused OpenAI engineer booked a one-way flight, prosecutors say
Sources
- CNBC: OpenAI bugging suspect Alfozan held without bail after Saudi government offers to pay. Checked
- Business Insider: Fired OpenAI engineer accused of bugging office won’t be released from jail. Checked
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