A court filing says Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old OpenAI engineer charged over a hidden recording device, had one-way tickets booked to Saudi Arabia via Istanbul for himself, his wife and another family member. He was arrested on October 9, and the flight was booked for October 12. He has entered no reported plea and is presumed innocent.

Prosecutors wrote on October 8 that Alfozan had the means and an incentive to flee if he learned of the case before his arrest. The filing formed the government’s argument for sealing the case. He is charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, an offense carrying up to five years in prison.

The device was reported last week after being found on September 30 behind a television in an executive conference room; a second device was allegedly found on October 5 in an unattended bag. OpenAI says no model weights, source code or customer data were taken, and that it used its own models to understand the device and identify who planted it. The devices’ contents were encrypted when the company found them, and no released information says whether they have since been read or what they captured.

The FBI is investigating, the National Security Division’s counterintelligence section assisted, and the US attorney called the case a matter of national security. No foreign government is alleged to have directed Alfozan, and no motive is alleged in released material. His complaint says he lacked authority to enter the room, which hosted meetings on confidential technical, commercial and strategic matters. He joined OpenAI in July 2025 and was dismissed on the day of his arrest. He is due before Magistrate Judge Alex Tse in San Francisco on October 19.

A court filing says Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old OpenAI engineer charged over a hidden recording device, had one-way tickets booked to Saudi Arabia via Istanbul for himself, his wife and another family member. He was arrested on October 9, and the flight was booked for October 12. He has entered no reported plea and is presumed innocent.

Prosecutors wrote on October 8 that Alfozan had the means and an incentive to flee if he learned of the case before his arrest. The filing formed the government’s argument for sealing the case. He is charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, an offense carrying up to five years in prison.

The device was reported last week after being found on September 30 behind a television in an executive conference room; a second device was allegedly found on October 5 in an unattended bag. OpenAI says no model weights, source code or customer data were taken, and that it used its own models to understand the device and identify who planted it. The devices’ contents were encrypted when the company found them, and no released information says whether they have since been read or what they captured.

The FBI is investigating, the National Security Division’s counterintelligence section assisted, and the US attorney called the case a matter of national security. No foreign government is alleged to have directed Alfozan, and no motive is alleged in released material. His complaint says he lacked authority to enter the room, which hosted meetings on confidential technical, commercial and strategic matters. He joined OpenAI in July 2025 and was dismissed on the day of his arrest. He is due before Magistrate Judge Alex Tse in San Francisco on October 19.