A former OpenAI engineer accused of planting a listening device in a top-secret conference room will remain in custody after a court on Monday granted the US government's request to keep him detained.

Prosecutors argued that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national and US permanent resident, poses a flight risk, citing his communications with a member of the Saudi royal family on WhatsApp and his pursuit of opportunities to return to Saudi Arabia amid the country's major AI push.

The FBI reportedly found that Alfozan accessed a folder labeled "Saudi Gov Docs" on his iPhone shortly before his arrest, where he also allegedly stored photos of a second bug planted in OpenAI's offices.

Prosecutors said Alfozan had booked a one-way ticket to Riyadh for himself, his wife, and their baby, allegedly paid for by the Saudi government. After his arrest, his wife and son left the US on a separate flight.

The government also pointed to his substantial earnings from a decade in Bay Area tech and at least two Saudi bank accounts as evidence he has the resources to flee. Prosecutors referenced a prior case involving former Twitter employees charged with spying for Saudi Arabia to support their detention request.

Source: Ars Technica