tech-espionage
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Accused OpenAI spy had folder called “Saudi Gov Docs,” FBI says
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2 min read
A US court on Monday granted the government’s request to keep former OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan detained while he faces allegations that he bugged a top-secret conference room to steal OpenAI information. Federal prosecutors allege that Alfozan acted either for personal business gain or to benefit Saudi Arabia. Alfozan, a Saudi national and US permanent legal resident, has not been convicted of the allegations described in the government’s filing. US Attorney Craig Missakian said evidence included WhatsApp communications between Alfozan and a member of the Saudi royal family while Alfozan pursued opportunities to move permanently to Saudi Arabia during the country’s AI expansion. Prosecutors said the FBI found that he had recently accessed an iPhone folder labeled “Saudi Gov Docs,” which allegedly contained photographs of a second bug planted in OpenAI offices. The government also alleged that Alfozan had booked Saudi-government-paid one-way tickets for himself, his wife, and their baby to Riyadh before his arrest. Afterward, prosecutors said, his wife and son left the United States on a business-class ticket to Doha that was booked and paid for by a member of the Saudi military. The government cited Alfozan’s Saudi bank accounts, Bay Area earnings, and alleged Saudi support as reasons he could flee.