Prosecutors say a civil servant exploited remote working and sick notes to fraudulently balance multiple Government positions. At one stage, Kashim Chowdhury was contracted to work 183 hours weekly across five jobs—exceeding the number of hours that actually exist in seven days, jurors at Southwark Crown Court heard.
Overlapping roles and earnings
The 55-year-old, from Whitechapel, east London, stands accused of misrepresenting his employment status to secure a series of overlapping full-time positions across government departments and public bodies. Between February 2020 and September 2023, Chowdhury received nearly £350,000 from eight employers, the court was told.
Prosecutors claim Chowdhury "exploited" the work-from-home culture which emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic to conceal his multiple jobs and took sick leave from some employers to manage the workload. In one incident, described by prosecutor Lucy Organ as "laughable", Chowdhury allegedly applied white make-up during a video call with his boss to seemingly appear unwell, the court was told.
Employment history and allegations
During the opening of his trial on Tuesday, the court was told that he commenced working for Tower Hamlets Council in February 2020, before securing a second job with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in April 2021. The two positions overlapped for more than a year, the court was told.
For four months in 2022, he also held a third role with East London NHS Trust. Following his departure from the council, prosecutors allege Chowdhury continued his employment with Defra while securing additional positions 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 purportedly receiving wages for five full-time positions.
Court proceedings continue
Ms Organ informed jurors that Chowdhury made misleading claims about his current employment when submitting applications for the roles. "Clearly, he would not have been employed by his employers if they had known he had multiple other full-time jobs," she said.
The court was told that Chowdhury had informed employers he needed to work remotely to look after his "unwell" mother. However, Ms Organ stated his workload ultimately became "too much to cope with" and his performance deteriorated. He then purportedly took sick leave from certain positions while maintaining work in his remaining roles.
In May 2023, his UKHSA line manager Aleesha Adams organised a video call to address his recent sick leave. Chowdhury featured on camera "coughing and blowing his nose", the court was told. Ms Adams stated that his face looked white while his neck was a contrasting colour, prosecutors allege. During the meeting, she noticed the makeup on his forehead beginning to break down, revealing his natural skin beneath, the court was told.
Ms Organ informed jurors: "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."
Chowdhury had also "messed up" by logging into the meeting using a Defra email address, the court heard. He allegedly told Ms Adams that it could be an old address. The prosecutor described this as a "lie" intended to disguise the fact he was simultaneously employed elsewhere.
Jurors were told that the alleged frauds came to light after the National Fraud Initiative flagged them to Defra. Ms Organ stated that between March 2020 and September 2023, Chowdhury had received over £300,000 in credits across his three bank accounts, with nearly £250,000 in debits. The trial continues.
