Former Twitter employee convicted in Saudi spy case in US

A former Twitter Inc. manager accused of spying for Saudi Arabia was convicted on six criminal counts, including acting as an agent for the country and trying to disguise a payment from an official tied to Saudi's royal family.

Ahmad Abouammo, a dual US-Lebanese citizen who at Twitter helped oversee relationships with journalists and celebrities in the Middle East and North Africa, was found guilty after a 2-1/2 week trial in San Francisco federal court, according to Reuters.

Jurors acquitted him on five of the 11 counts he faced.

Federal public defenders representing Abouammo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Twitter declined to comment.

Prosecutors said Bader Al-Asaker, a close adviser to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, recruited Abouammo to use his insider knowledge to access Twitter accounts and dig up personal information about Saudi dissidents.

Prosecutors said Abouammo received at least $300,000 and a $20,000 luxury watch from Al-Asaker and concealed the money by depositing it in a relative's account in Lebanon and having it wired to his own account in the US.