The defendant, Abdulrahman Alfozan, communicated with the Saudi royal as recently as Oct. 5 — four days before he was arrested, the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco said in the filing, which requests that he be detained without bail.
Prosecutors did not identify the Saudi royal, or say in the filing how Alfozan, who then was working as an engineer at OpenAI, knew that person.
"Among other things, the individual [the royal family member] told the defendant [Alfozan] that an artificial intelligence initiative was being launched in Saudi Arabia and wanted the defendant to join it," prosecutors wrote in their filing.
"In May 2026, the individual told the defendant, 'Saudi needs you more then [sic] the US!' to which the defendant responded '100,' indicating he agreed," prosecutors wrote.
"The individual repeatedly tried to recruit the defendant and asked when he planned to leave OpenAI," prosecutors wrote. " At the time, the defendant said he wouldn't leave until his stock vested."