OpenAI Engineer Accused of Spying on Executives Ordered to Remain in Custody

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The former OpenAI engineer accused of bugging a company conference room must stay in custody while he awaits trial, a federal judge ruled on Monday after expressing concerns about his ties to Saudi Arabia.

US prosecutors alleged Abdulrahman Alfozan is a flight risk because the Saudi Arabian government has offered to support him with no strings attached. They cited, for example, the Saudi consulate’s offer to work with a bail bonds firm to help fund Alfozan’s release.

Federal magistrate judge Alex Tse questioned whether Alfozan is an “asset” for the kingdom and how a bond backed by the government could keep him in the country. “I find that problematic,” Tse said. “It seems like a blank check. ‘We’re going to pay whatever the court wants to get him out.’ I’m more interested in people from his family wanting to put up assets.”

William Pernik, an attorney for Alfozan, dismissed the flight risk worries as baseless. But he failed to convince the judge that Alfozan was committed to his life in the US. “There is a real threat here that once he leaves the case is over,” Tse said.

Aflozan appeared in an orange prison uniform and a medical face mask pulled down over his neck on Monday in Tse’s San Francisco courtroom, which was filled to capacity with journalists, students on a field trip, and about 20 people supporting Alfozan.

Employee attempts to steal confidential company information are common in Silicon Valley. But Alfozan’s case has drawn international attention for the alleged amateur spycraft and geopolitical tensions at the center of it. Authorities haven’t offered a potential motive, but have noted Alfozan has worked for a Saudi venture capital firm, offered consulting services to Saudi companies, and is supposedly friendly with people high up in the Saudi government.