A civil servant from east London is standing trial accused of fraudulently holding multiple full-time government jobs simultaneously, exploiting remote working arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kashim Chowdhury, 55, is alleged to have been employed by up to five different public sector departments at the same time, receiving overlapping salaries totaling over £280,000.
Prosecutors told Southwark Crown Court that Chowdhury worked for eight employers between February 2020 and September 2023, including the Home Office, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the UK Health Security Agency, and the Department of Health and Social Care. During this period, he reportedly concealed his full employment status from various departments, submitting false information on application forms by denying he was already a civil servant. Prosecutor Lucy Organ stated that Chowdhury secured multiple full-time positions by misleading employers about his existing commitments, as revealing the truth would have likely prevented him from obtaining additional roles.
At the height of the alleged scheme, Chowdhury was contracted to work 183 hours a week—significantly exceeding the 168 hours that exist in a standard week. In April 2023, he purportedly took home more than £11,000, reflecting the cumulative earnings from several jobs. Over three years, he earned nearly £350,000 from these roles.
The court heard that Chowdhury told employers he needed to work from home to care for his elderly mother, a factor that prosecutors say he exploited to maintain multiple concurrent full-time jobs without detection. He also purportedly used sick leave or medical certificates to cover absences from some positions while continuing to work for others. For example, a manager at the UK Health Security Agency described his work performance as “exceptionally poor,” and it was reported that he missed meetings and struggled to manage his workload.
During a virtual meeting to discuss his sickness absence, Chowdhury’s manager at the UK Health Security Agency observed that he was wearing white make-up on his face but not on his neck, allegedly intended to simulate illness. This incident was highlighted by prosecutors as indicative of the lengths he allegedly went to in deceiving his employers.
Chowdhury first began working for Tower Hamlets council in February 2020 as a public health programme manager with a salary close to £50,000. In April 2021, he took on an additional full-time post at Defra. Over the following years, he secured further roles with other government bodies, including NHS trusts, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Food Standards Agency. By March 2023, he allegedly held five full-time jobs simultaneously.
The case emerged following a public sector data-matching exercise that identified irregularities, prompting Defra to launch an investigation. Chowdhury was arrested at his home in July 2023 and denies the charges of fraud and dishonesty, disputing that he acted with any intent to make a dishonest gain. His trial is ongoing and is expected to last several weeks.