Saudi royal links alleged in OpenAI bugging case

The Financial Times reports that US prosecutors want former OpenAI employee Abdulrahman Alfozan detained until trial in a case alleging he bugged an office meeting room. Prosecutors say he exchanged frequent WhatsApp messages with an unnamed Saudi royal in 2025 and 2026, including messages in which the royal tried to recruit him to a Saudi AI initiative. Alfozan’s lawyer told the FT the allegations appeared “wholly out of character” and pledged to investigate the evidence.