A former OpenAI employee accused of placing a recording device inside the company’s San Francisco offices has been ordered held without bail after a federal judge ruled that he posed a significant flight risk.
US District Judge Alex Tse issued the ruling on Monday, rejecting a request by Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, to be released while awaiting trial. Alfozan appeared in court wearing orange prison clothing but did not speak during the hour-long hearing.
He was arrested on October 9 and faces up to five years in prison on charges of intercepting oral communications.
Although the criminal complaint does not allege espionage, a recent court filing said the investigation could lead to additional serious charges and raised concerns about US national security. US Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton also suggested last week that the case had broader national security implications.
The filing said investigators were examining whether Alfozan intended to record OpenAI meetings to improve his business prospects, assist a foreign government, or pursue both objectives. It described the alleged conduct as criminal.
Prosecutors argued that Alfozan was a flight risk because he had purchased a one-way ticket to Riyadh for October 12 before his arrest. His lawyer, William Pernik, disputed that assessment, pointing to a US naturalisation interview scheduled for November 6.
Alfozan’s wife and their baby left the United States on October 10, one day after his arrest. Prosecutors said their travel tickets had been paid for by a Saudi military official and noted that the United States and Saudi Arabia do not have an extradition treaty.
During Monday’s hearing, Alfozan’s lawyers argued that he should be released on bail, saying he was pursuing US citizenship and was prepared to offer assets worth $1 million as security.
Prosecutors countered that returning to Saudi Arabia could be financially more attractive to him. Judge Tse said the possibility that Alfozan could leave the country and avoid prosecution was a central concern in the case.
The next hearing is scheduled for November 6.
According to the Justice Department, security footage showed Alfozan inside a restricted conference room looking behind a television, where a USB recording device wrapped in toilet paper had allegedly been placed.
The case comes amid intensifying international competition in artificial intelligence, a sector receiving growing investment from governments and private companies. Saudi-backed AI firm Humain invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI shortly before SpaceX acquired the AI division in February. The division, now known as SpaceXAI, had also announced plans with Humain for a 500-megawatt data centre in Saudi Arabia.
The case has drawn comparisons with earlier allegations involving former Twitter employees. In 2022, former Twitter worker Ahmad Abouammo was found guilty of spying for Saudi officials seeking to identify critics on the platform. Another former employee, Ali Alzabarah, faced similar allegations but left the United States before he could be charged, a precedent cited by prosecutors in Alfozan’s case.
