Toilet paper and secret recorders: What we know about the arrest of the Saudi OpenAI engineer

What the report says

A Saudi OpenAI engineer, Abdulrahman Alfozan, has been arrested by the FBI and appeared in court in California over allegations that he tried to place a hidden recording device in a meeting room used by the AI company. According to the BBC’s report, the 35-year-old was charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications. He had worked at OpenAI for a little more than a year before the arrest.

The court complaint, as described by the BBC, says investigators believe Alfozan used AI tools to ask about meeting rooms, their availability and how to build and remotely access a recorder. The report also says OpenAI staff found a device wrapped in toilet paper behind a television in a conference room on 30 September, and that CCTV later showed Alfozan near that room on multiple occasions. A second recording device was allegedly found in a bag he left in another room.

OpenAI said it used its own AI models to understand the device and where it came from, while also stating that it had no indication the person accessed or took model weights, source code or customer data. The company said the room was used for confidential technical, commercial and strategic discussions, including government and business matters.

Alfozan’s lawyer said the accusations were out of character and urged the public to wait for the full facts. The BBC reported that the FBI investigation is ongoing and that a detention hearing is scheduled later this month.