California: (RightNow) The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested Abdulrahman Al-Fawzan, a Saudi engineer at OpenAI, on charges of espionage. He is accused of installing a secret audio recording device in the company’s conference room.

According to the Department of Justice, Abdulrahman was arrested on Friday and presented in a California court on Tuesday. He had been working at OpenAI since July 2025.

The defendant’s lawyer stated that Abdulrahman should be presumed innocent and no conclusions should be drawn at the preliminary stage of the trial. The company immediately contacted the FBI and terminated his employment.

The U.S. Department of Justice reported that sensitive information was discussed in the company’s conference room. The espionage posed a risk of exposing the company’s critical information.

It is noteworthy that Abdulrahman is scheduled to appear in court again on October 19. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.