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Wed, 14 Oct 2026

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 Toilet paper and secret recorders: What we know about the arrest of the Saudi OpenAI engineer

Abdulrahman Alfozan had worked for the AI giant for more than a year before he was arrested by the FBI.

* Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old Saudi national and OpenAI engineer, was arrested by the FBI and charged with intercepting oral communications.
* He allegedly planted a secret recording device behind a TV in an OpenAI meeting room, which had been wrapped in toilet paper.
* The room where the device was found held high-level meetings about confidential technical, commercial, and strategic information, as well as government engagements and commercial relationships.
* Alfozan had no authority to access or be involved with meetings in the room, but CCTV footage showed him near the conference room eight times in September.
* When staff discovered the recording device on October 30, they used AI models to identify it and determine its origin.
* Alfozan was caught on camera looking behind the TV where the device had been inserted, and a similar device was found in an unattended bag he left in another room.
* If convicted, Alfozan faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.