A UK civil servant allegedly exploited the work-from-home culture to hold five government jobs simultaneously, using sick leave and false claims about his employment status to manage his workload, a court has heard. Kashim Chowdhury, 55, from Whitechapel in east London, is accused of fraudulently securing multiple full-time roles across government departments and public bodies between 2020 and 2023. Prosecutors told Southwark Crown Court that he was contracted to work 183 hours a week across five jobs at one point, exceeding the total number of hours in a seven-day week, Telegraph reported.
Chowdhury allegedly earned nearly 350,000 pounds from eight employers between February 2020 and September 2023. He denies nine counts of fraud.
How Did He Manage Five Government Jobs?
Prosecutors said Chowdhury began working for Tower Hamlets Council in February 2020 before taking a second job with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in April 2021. He held both positions simultaneously for more than a year. In 2022, he also worked for East London NHS Trust for four months.
After leaving the council, Chowdhury continued working for Defra and secured additional roles with the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the Department for Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency and the Home Office.
By May 2023, he was allegedly being paid for five full-time jobs at the same time.
Prosecutor Lucy Organ told the court that Chowdhury misrepresented his existing employment when applying for the positions. He also told employers that he needed to work from home to care for his unwell mother.
Sick Leave And White Make-Up Allegations
According to prosecutors, Chowdhury took advantage of remote working arrangements introduced during the Covid pandemic to conceal his overlapping jobs. When the workload became too difficult to manage, he allegedly began taking sick leave from some employers.
The court heard that he was signed off for work for mixed anxiety and a depressive disorder but did not submit a sick note to all his employers.
In May 2023, his UKHSA manager, Aleesha Adams, arranged a video call to discuss his absences. During the meeting, she allegedly noticed that white make-up Chowdhury had applied to appear ill was beginning to separate on his forehead, revealing his natural skin underneath, Sky News reported.
Organ said, “There could be no doubt about it; the defendant had applied make-up to his face for this Teams meeting to try and pretend to his line manager that he was unwell. This almost laughable incident demonstrates, we say, quite how far the defendant was willing to go in his deceit.”
Prosecutors also told the court that Chowdhury joined the meeting using a Defra email address, which allegedly raised further questions about his employment arrangements.
How Was The Alleged Fraud Discovered?
The alleged fraud came to light after the National Fraud Initiative alerted Defra, the court heard.
Prosecutors said financial records showed that Chowdhury received more than 300,000 pounds in credits across three bank accounts between March 2020 and September 2023, while nearly 250,000 pounds was debited from the accounts during the period.
Chowdhury denies all nine fraud charges. His trial is continuing.
