Ex-Twitter Worker Convicted of Spying for Saudi Arabia, Releasing User Data of Those Critical of Saudi Government

Ex-Twitter worker Ahmad Abouammo was found guilty of spying for Saudi Arabia, including releasing Twitter user data of those who criticized the Saudi government in exchange for large amounts of money.

The 44-year-old former Twitter worker was an engineer at the social media platform, gaining him access to confidential data about users such as email addresses, phone numbers, and IP addresses, which can reveal their location, according to a Daily Mail report.

Prosecutors then noted that he passes Twitter user data to an official connected to the Saudi royal family, giving him a luxury watch and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Abouammo was found guilty of being an illegal agent of a foreign government, money laundering, falsification of records, and one count of wire fraud. Meanwhile, he was found innocent on five other counts of wire fraud.

Prosecutors claimed that the Twitter engineer was recruited into the spying plot in 2014 by Bader Al-Asaker, also known as Bader Binasaker, who is an aide to former Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Former Twitter Worker Spying for Saudi Arabia

A 2019 Federal Bureau Investigation complaint named a Saudi citizen, Ali Alzabarah, along with Abouammo, for using their positions in Twitter to access confidential Twitter user data.

A third man was also named in the complaint. He was a Saudi citizen, Ahmed Al-Mutairi, who was alleged to have worked with the Saudi royal family as an intermediary.

User data of over 6,000 Twitter accounts were accessed, including at least 33 usernames for which Saudi law enforcement agencies had submitted emergency disclosure requests to Twitter.

The two men that were accomplices of Abouammo are still listed by the FBI as wanted, as reported by ABC News Go.

Abouammo's trial ended on Thursday with a jury of six men and five women taking 17 hours to conclude a verdict.

Prosecutors and Abouammo's lawyers allowed 11 jurors to decide the case after the 12th member of the jury had been excused for testing positive for COVID-19.

The New York Times reported that one juror told Abouammo's lawyers that she wished Twitter had "a little more responsibility for this."

A Twitter spokeswoman noted that the social media platform had cooperated with law enforcement during the trial.

The spokeswoman added that they had notified users who might have been affected.

U.S. and Saudi Arabia

In July, U.S. President Joe Biden met with leaders of Saudi Arabia in Jeddah.

The White House press release noted that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia finalized a number of international bilateral agreements in a meeting with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The results of the meeting include removing peacekeepers from Tiran Island.

The two parties also agreed to open Saudi Airspace to Civilian Aircraft Flying to and from Israel. It also included sustaining the U.N.-mediated truce in Yemen.

The U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to help Saudi Arabia defend and protect its territory and people from all external attacks.

The two nations' leaders also talked about new cooperation on energy security among others.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Former Twitter employees accused of spying on accounts for Saudi Arabia - from CBS Evening News