Civil Servant Accused of Holding Five Full-Time Government Jobs

A civil servant accused of holding five full-time government jobs simultaneously earned more than £11,000 in take-home wages in one month, Southwark Crown Court heard. Kashim Chowdhury, 55, allegedly exploited the post-Covid work-from-home culture to secure overlapping roles with various government departments.

Between February 2020 and September 2023, Chowdhury held eight jobs and earned a total of £349,378, the court was told. At the peak of his employment, he allegedly held five full-time posts and was contracted to work 183 hours per week. In April 2023, he received £11,015.62 in wages from five employers, followed by another £8,745.88 in May.

Prosecutors allege that Chowdhury repeatedly lied to secure these overlapping positions. He is accused of telling employers he needed to work remotely to care for his elderly mother and using sick notes to manage his workload. Colleagues reportedly grew frustrated with his poor performance, unaware he was working at least one other full-time job simultaneously. On one occasion, he allegedly applied white make-up to deceive bosses into believing he was ill.

When he did attend work, witnesses described Chowdhury as appearing overwhelmed and unable to perform basic tasks.

A financial investigator examined three bank accounts belonging to Chowdhury and found 102 wage credits totaling £229,161.23 between March 2020 and September 2023. These payments were net amounts received after tax deductions. The employers included the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (£88,656.59), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) (£74,500.29), Venn Group (£10,850.47), the Department of Health and Social Care (£13,914.77), the UK Health Security Agency (£11,810.31), the Department for Business and Trade (£10,022.24), the Food Standards Agency (£10,422.36), and the Home Office (£8,984.20).

The financial analysis indicated that Chowdhury received wages from five employers – Defra, the UK Health Security Agency, the Department for Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency, and the Home Office – for two months in 2023, specifically April and May.

During the investigation, a Sony Vaio laptop allegedly went missing from Chowdhury's property. A Defra investigator testified that she did not recall seeing the laptop during the search, nor did she recall seeing any police officer remove it. The court also heard that three mobile phones and 15 memory sticks collected as exhibits were lost by a courier service during transport to a digital forensics unit.

Chowdhury denies nine counts of fraud. The trial is ongoing.