Prosecutors: Ex-OpenAI engineer was days from flight to Saudi Arabia
What's new: Prosecutors said Saudi officials bought new one-way tickets for his wife and infant after his arrest as they seek to keep him jailed.
Federal prosecutors said former OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan was just days from leaving for Saudi Arabia when agents arrested him on charges that he secretly placed a recording device in a company conference room. In a detention filing in San Francisco, prosecutors said Alfozan had Saudi bank accounts, was in frequent contact with a member of the Saudi royal family and had support from Saudi officials, including new one-way flights for his wife and infant son after his arrest. They are seeking to hold him pending trial, arguing Saudi Arabia has no extradition treaty with the United States. Defense lawyers said the family had long planned a paternity-leave trip and asked that Alfozan be released to home confinement with GPS monitoring.