OpenAI engineer accused of planting conference room recorder seeks bail

The case began with the discovery of a thumb-sized recording device connected to a USB port behind a television in an executive conference room at OpenAI's San Francisco offices, according to Middle East Eye. Euronews reported that the device was allegedly wrapped in toilet paper.

Federal authorities accused Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national employed as an OpenAI engineer, of planting it to capture sensitive conversations about the company's technology, according to Fast Company Technology. Al Jazeera reported that the FBI said he had worked at OpenAI since June 2025.

Alfozan was arrested on October 9, three days before his scheduled departure for Saudi Arabia, News18 reported. OpenAI dismissed him on the day he was detained, according to The Next Web.

In its October 14 coverage, The Hindu reported that OpenAI said it used its models to understand the device and where it had come from. Entrepreneur later reported the company's account that its models helped trace the device to the worker.

Also on October 14, the Financial Times reported that newly unsealed court filings showed Alfozan, his wife and a third family member had booked travel for October 12. Bloomberg Technology reported that his ticket to Saudi Arabia was one-way. Prosecutors had sought to keep case details sealed because they feared he would flee, according to Gizmodo Tech.

On October 15, The New York Times reported that Alfozan had said he advised government agencies in Saudi Arabia and had been listed as a partner at a venture firm with a Saudi prince. Those reported connections do not, by themselves, establish who the alleged recording was intended to benefit.

By October 17, Alfozan had asked to be released from custody and denied that buying the ticket was part of a plan to flee, Bloomberg Technology reported.

Alfozan faces federal charges over the alleged recording device and is no longer employed by OpenAI, according to ABCNews.com. The latest report from Bloomberg Technology describes his request for release, not a decision granting it.

The allegations remain unproven. The Next Web reported on October 14 that he had not entered a plea. The supplied coverage does not establish what conversations, if any, were successfully recorded or whether recordings reached anyone outside the company.

The immediate issue is whether Alfozan will be released while the case proceeds. His denial that he intended to flee, reported by Bloomberg Technology, puts the meaning of the booked travel at the centre of that dispute.

Further court proceedings could clarify what the device captured, how investigators linked it to Alfozan and whether anyone else was involved. OpenAI's account of using its own models in the investigation also leaves open exactly what those tools established.