OpenAI bugging suspect had booked a one-way flight to Saudi Arabia before his arrest

Abdulrahman Alfozan, the OpenAI engineer facing charges over a hidden recording device found in an executive conference room, had purchased a one-way ticket departing Oct. 12 — three days after he was taken into custody, according to CNBC.

Federal prosecutors disclosed the booking in a newly unsealed Oct. 8 filing that asked a judge to seal the criminal complaint and arrest warrant, according to CNBC. The tickets covered Alfozan, his wife and a third family member and routed from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia via Istanbul.

Alfozan "has the means — and will have the incentive — to flee the United States sooner if he learns about this case before he is arrested," the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco said in the filing, according to CNBC. The judge granted the sealing request. Alfozan has been detained since his arrest and is awaiting an Oct. 19 detention hearing, where his lawyer could argue for release on bond.

Alfozan, 35, was arrested on Oct. 9 after prosecutors said he hid an audio recording device behind a television in the conference room. He is charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications. A conviction could bring a sentence of as long as five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The Justice Department announced the charges on Tuesday.

OpenAI said it has no indications that Alfozan inappropriately accessed or exfiltrated model weights, source code or customer data. The company terminated him this month.

Alfozan is also a venture partner at Raed Ventures, a Saudi venture capital firm that lists a Saudi prince as another partner, according to CNBC. The complaint does not allege that Raed or its other partners knew about the device. Raed did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

The complaint stops short of alleging corporate espionage or theft of trade secrets. William Pernik, Alfozan's defense attorney, indicated to CNBC that his team has had little to work with given how recently the charging documents became public. "These allegations appear wholly out of character for him, and we will relentlessly investigate all evidence produced by the government in this case to understand what actually happened, who was responsible, and any possible reasons why," Pernik said.

Prosecutors from the National Security, Cyber & Special Prosecutions Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California are handling the matter, according to CNBC.