Ex-OpenAI employee accused of planting device appears to have Saudi backing, court filing shows

‌An ex-OpenAI ​employee accused of planting a recording device in an ‌executive conference room at the AI company appears to have received considerable support from the Saudi ‌government, a court filing showed on Monday.

US prosecutors ‌allege that the defendant, Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, was in frequent communication with an unnamed member of the Saudi ⁠Royal ​family ⁠and that a member of the Saudi military paid for ⁠a one-way plane ticket for Alfozan's wife ​and son to return to Saudi Arabia, according ⁠to the court document. Prosecutors made those allegations as ⁠they ​asked a federal judge to keep Alfozan in US custody to await trial, ⁠arguing he is a flight risk.

The Saudi government media ⁠office ⁠did not immediately respond to a request for comment.