Pictures of the recording device installed by the “Saudi engineer” accused of “Open AI” are republished by the FBI director

(CNN) - FBI Director Kash Patel re-published pictures of the “advanced” recording device installed by the accused employee of the “Open AI” company, while the US Department of Justice identified him as the 35-year-old Saudi engineer, Abdul Rahman Al-Fawzan.

The photos that the FBI director re-published came in a post on his page on the X platform (formerly Twitter), citing an account of a journalist on the American Fox News channel.

Patel said in a comment: “The FBI and its partners arrested this person, after he - according to the accusations - hid a recording device inside the meeting room of senior executives at his employer, with the aim of monitoring confidential and sensitive conversations related to the company’s super-intelligence technology.”

Patel continued, saying: “We thank the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Jay Clayton, Todd Blanche, and our law enforcement partners for their support in this case, knowing that the investigation is still ongoing,” adding that “protecting American innovations in the field of superintelligence is critical, and the FBI makes it one of its top priorities in the field of counterintelligence.”

According to the ministry, the device was discovered on September 30 during a routine inspection of a conference room; It was found plugged into a USB port behind a TV screen and covered with toilet paper.

The US Department of Justice reported that Al-Fawzan, who had been working as an engineer on the product team since July 2025, was arrested on October 9 and remains in detention.

CNN has reached out to Al-Fawzan for comment.

OpenAI stated that the device was intended for audio recording, equipped with advanced encryption techniques and a data transfer mechanism specifically designed to avoid detection.

Surveillance cameras captured Al-Fawzan entering the meeting room where “top-secret” discussions were taking place, while the Ministry of Justice said that other similar recording devices were found in a backpack belonging to Al-Fawzan, and OpenAI said it had evidence indicating his intention to deploy more recording devices throughout the company’s offices.

“At this time, we have no indications that this individual has unauthorized access to or leaked forms, codes or customer data,” the company added.

Profile data indicates that Al-Fawzan studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley, and is also a partner in Raed, a Saudi company specializing in venture capital.

CNN has reached out to the company for comment.