Twitter Ex-Employee Who Spied On Accounts For Saudi Officials, Sentenced 3.5 Years In Jail
According to the prosecutors, Abouammo was offered at least $300,000 in cash and a $20,000 luxury watch from Al-Asaker for his services. He also concealed the hefty sum in the account of a relative in Lebanon which was later wired to his own account in the US.
A former Twitter manager who was convicted of spying for Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 3.5 years in US prison, reveals a Reuters report.
via Twitter
The convict, Abouammo has been in action as early as 2014, accepting bribes from Saudi officials. While at Twitter, he was responsible for overseeing relationships with journalists and celebrities in the Middle East and North Africa.
Abouammo was convicted for sharing sensitive information from Twitter¡¯s internal systems to aid Saudi officials to identify and locate Twitter users of interest. Prosecutors argued that Bader Al-Asaker, a close advisor to Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman recruited Abouammo to use his insider knowledge to gain access to Twitter accounts and look up personal info about Saudi dissidents.
According to the prosecutors, Abouammo was offered at least $300,000 in cash and a $20,000 luxury watch from Al-Asaker for his services. He also concealed the hefty sum in the account of a relative in Lebanon which was later wired to his own account in the US.
The court convicted Abouammo of wire fraud and honest services fraud, money laundering and even a conspiracy charge. Another colleague of Abouammo, Ali Alzabarah, who was also accused of accessing Twitter accounts for the Saudi prince fled from the US before being charged.
Reuters
Federal public defenders who represented Abouammo as well as Twitter haven¡¯t shared any official statements regarding this, nor have they responded to a request for comment.
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