Days before his arrest, the suspect in the OpenAI wiretapping case was still in frequent communication with members of the Saudi royal family, and prosecutors revealed that his wife and children's departure flights were arranged by the Saudi government.

U.S. federal prosecutors revealed in court documents unsealed on Sunday that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national accused of installing a recording device at OpenAI headquarters, was in frequent communication via WhatsApp with a Saudi royal family member in the days leading up to his arrest. This royal family member had attempted to recruit Alfozan to join Saudi Arabia's AI program and had booked outbound flights for Alfozan's wife and children.

Alfozan was arrested on October 9 and charged with attempted interception of oral communications, facing a maximum of five years in prison. Prosecutors stated in the documents that evidence found on Alfozan's iPhone showed he inserted a covert recording device behind a television in an OpenAI executive conference room on September 28. This room is frequently used for discussions of highly confidential technical, business, and strategic information. Prosecutors argue that Alfozan's actions could pose a threat to U.S. national security and that he presents a flight risk due to his connections and resources with a foreign government, therefore requesting that he be denied bail.