The Saudi engineer at OpenAI, who was fired after being charged with placing an audio recording device inside a company conference room, was arrested by the FBI just three days before he planned to fly back to Saudi Arabia with his family — with a one-way ticket. 

FBI Director Kash Patel announced Tuesday that the bureau has arrested an OpenAI employee who allegedly bugged the company's executive conference room in San Francisco, California. Officials have identified the man as Saudi Arabian national Abdulrahman Alfozan, who was arrested on October 9. 

Alfozan said in a recent podcast interview that he helped advise Saudi Arabian government agencies on technology and bragged about meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then the deputy crown prince, during the prince’s 2016 visit to Silicon Valley, the New York Post reported. 

Alfozan, who was seeking guidance on whether to return to Saudia Arabia, said in a podcast interview last month that the prince advised young Saudis working in Silicon Valley to hone their skills at major tech companies and then bring that expertise home. 

“You learn from the source and then, God willing, bring that experience and knowledge back to the homeland,” Alfozan said.

According to the complaint, Alfozan had been employed as an engineer by OpenAI since July 2025. OpenAI personnel discovered an audio recording device inserted into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room inside one of their buildings in San Francisco. 

OpenAI determined that the device, which had been concealed in toilet paper, was installed on or about Sept. 28, and its contents were encrypted. Footage inside OpenAI’s office showed Alfozan near the executive conference room on multiple dates prior to the device’s discovery, although he had no authority to access or to participate in meetings that occurred in the room.

William Pernik, a lawyer representing Alfozan, said his client was charged with violating a federal recording statute, but he wasn't charged with stealing trade secrets or working as a foreign agent. Pernik asked for “everyone to withhold judgment until full facts become known.”

If convicted, Alfozan faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, followed by three years of supervised release.