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New developments in OpenAI 'eavesdropping' case: Saudi engineer seeks bail, denies intent to flee
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Bloomberg reported on October 17 Beijing time that Saudi engineer Abdulrahman Al-Fawzan, who was charged in connection with the alleged use of a secret recording device in OpenAI's office, has applied for bail and denied that purchasing a one-way ticket back to Saudi Arabia was intended to evade U.S. legal prosecution. On the evening of October 16 local time, his lawyer submitted documents to the court, saying he had arranged his trip back home before he came under investigation and requesting that bail be granted. The lawyer also explained that Al-Fawzan had for years been in the habit of first buying a one-way ticket and then booking a return ticket, because work in the technology industry often involves last-minute meetings and project arrangements, making this more cost-effective than changing a ticket at short notice.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Al-Fawzan was arrested on October 9. More than a week earlier, OpenAI employees discovered a secretly installed recording device behind a television in an executive conference room. OpenAI said the company fired Al-Fawzan on the day he was arrested. The incident attracted widespread attention from international media.
In documents filed the day before Al-Fawzan's arrest, prosecutors pointed out that he, his wife, and another family member had purchased one-way tickets departing from San Francisco and flying to Saudi Arabia via Istanbul. Prosecutors at the time asked the court to temporarily keep the arrest warrant and other documents confidential from the public, and explained that if the defendant had learned of the case before his arrest, he had both the means and the motive to flee the United States in advance. This argument became one of the core issues in the bail dispute.
Al-Fawzan's lawyer countered that the timing of the ticket purchase and the travel arrangements did not support the prosecution's inference. The lawyer said he bought the tickets on September 13, 17 days before OpenAI discovered the device in question and 26 days before his arrest, when there was no investigation to flee from at all. The lawyer also explained that the October 12 departure date was chosen to accommodate his wife; after her work permit ended, under U.S. immigration rules, she had to leave the country no later than that day.
Court documents show that Al-Fawzan came to the United States 15 years ago as a college freshman, attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has lived in the United States ever since; "his entire life is here." He later worked at Facebook (now Meta) for about six years, then joined a startup in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in 2025 joined OpenAI. According to court documents, he has held U.S. permanent resident status since 2020, has traveled back and forth to Saudi Arabia 20 times in the past five years, and is expected to become eligible for U.S. citizenship soon. The lawyer said he has an infant son who is a U.S. citizen and had planned to begin parental leave on October 19.
The lawyer also said the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia agreed to support Al-Fawzan's release under strict restrictions and supervision in the United States, including not leaving the country without court approval. In addition, a total of 54 people wrote letters to the court on Al-Fawzan's behalf, including a doctor, several engineers, startup founders, a former roommate, and friends who have known him for more than 10 years. The defense accordingly asked the court to grant bail.
As countries race to develop more powerful AI systems, the case is expected to further raise concerns about security issues at large technology companies. Al-Fawzan is scheduled to appear at a detention hearing at the federal court in San Francisco on October 19 local time, presided over by U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse. At that time, the court will address his detention and bail issues, and the dispute between prosecutors and the defense over the one-way ticket and the intent to flee will continue.
