FBI Weighs Economic Espionage Charge Against Saudi Engineer Accused of Bugging OpenAI Room

The FBI is considering adding an economic espionage charge against Abdulrahman Alfozan, the Saudi national accused of secretly recording conversations in an executive conference room at OpenAI. A law-enforcement official made the disclosure to The Wall Street Journal, which published its report on Saturday.

According to the official, investigators are asking whether Alfozan, an OpenAI engineer, may have stolen company information to offer to the Saudi government, even if no one recruited him to do so. The official also said the investigation may not result in further charges.

Alfozan's lawyer, William Pernik, told the newspaper that he had received no information from the government about any additional charges. Neither the Saudi embassy in Washington nor OpenAI commented on the case.

Alfozan is 35 and a legal permanent resident of the United States. He was arrested earlier this month and is accused of wrapping a thumb-sized device containing a microphone and camera in toilet paper and plugging it in behind a television. The room, at the company's San Francisco office, is mostly used by executives.

He is charged with violating a federal recording statute, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. His next court hearing is set for 6 November.

A source familiar with the investigation told the Journal that OpenAI is trying to establish whether the incident was corporate espionage or state-sponsored spying.

In a court filing, federal prosecutors said Alfozan was in frequent contact over WhatsApp with a member of the Saudi royal family throughout 2025 and 2026. The unnamed relative allegedly tried to recruit him for an AI initiative being launched in Saudi Arabia. "Saudi needs you more than [sic] the US!" the royal family member wrote, according to the filing. Alfozan allegedly replied "100" but said he would not leave until his OpenAI stock had vested.

Prosecutors say the last communication between the two took place on 5 October, the same day Alfozan allegedly went to the conference room to look for his recording device. OpenAI has said it had already removed the device on 30 September during a security sweep, and it contacted the FBI after finding it.

According to the FBI complaint, Alfozan studied computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked at Meta and other technology firms before joining OpenAI in July 2025. The case has heightened concerns about security and the protection of confidential information as companies and governments compete to develop advanced AI.

Last week, a federal judge in San Francisco ordered Alfozan detained without bail, citing a "significant" risk that he would flee. Judge Alex Tse described an offer by the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles to pay the bail in full as "problematic".