A U.S. court denied bail for Abdulrahman Alfozan, a former OpenAI engineer accused of espionage after allegedly planting bugs in a top-secret conference room to steal proprietary AI research. Federal prosecutors argued that Alfozan, a Saudi national and U.S. permanent resident, had accessed a folder labeled “Saudi Gov Docs” on his iPhone, which also contained photos of a second surveillance device he installed. The FBI arrested him days before he was set to depart on a one-way ticket to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, allegedly funded by the Saudi government. Additional evidence cited by U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian included WhatsApp communications with a member of the Saudi royal family, two Saudi bank accounts, and a business-class ticket for his family to Doha, Qatar, arranged by a Saudi military official. Prosecutors framed Alfozan as a flight risk with substantial financial resources and government backing, referencing a prior case involving former Twitter employees charged with spying for Saudi Arabia, where one suspect fled the country with assistance from a Saudi official. The government emphasized that Alfozan’s decade of employment in the Bay Area provided him with technical expertise and compensation, further supporting claims of intent to transfer sensitive information to Saudi Arabia. Charges remain pending, with the court upholding detention based on national security concerns and evidence of coordinated efforts to facilitate his departure.