A former civil servant has been convicted of fraud for obtaining and holding multiple full-time Government jobs at the same time.

Kashim Chowdhury, 56, lied about his existing employment status and history on applications and was paid for multiple jobs in the civil service and associated public bodies over three years.

Between 2020 and 2023, Chowdhury repeatedly applied for positions within government departments and public bodies while concealing that he already had existing full-time employment.

The job applications he made included declarations that he had provided complete and true information, and he understood that knowingly making a false statement for this purpose was a criminal offence.

For more than a year, Chowdhury worked in full-time roles for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) before obtaining a further full-time job with the East London NHS Trust.

During 2022, he held positions with Defra, the Department of Health and Social Care, UK Health Security Agency, the Department for Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency, and the Home Office.

Between 20 March and 31 May 2023, Chowdhury had five full-time jobs paying him a full-time salary – and was contracted to 183 hours of work per week.

Chowdhury worked remotely from home and told employers he needed to do so to care for his elderly mother.

In May 2023, a meeting was held with his line manager at the UK Health Security Agency and a human resources case worker over his long-term sickness in that particular role.

Cameras were on during the meeting, and the line manager noticed that Chowdhury appeared to be wearing white face make-up to give him an appearance of being unwell.

It became noticeable as Chowdhury had put the make-up on his face but not on his neck. As the meeting went on, the make-up on Chowdhury’s forehead began to separate, revealing his skin underneath.

The line manager also noticed that Chowdhury had logged into the meeting from a Defra email address. When challenged, he said he had used his personal laptop for the meeting and claimed it was a ‘technical problem’.

The offending came to light after a data check by the National Fraud Initiative revealed Chowdhury was employed simultaneously by two Government departments.

Chowdhury was arrested at his home in July 2023 and made no comment when interviewed under caution.

During the trial, the prosecution was able to prove that Chowdhury repeatedly made false representations by accepting full-time roles and purporting to do those jobs at the same time while being paid. There was no evidence he declared his employment status to anyone.  

Today at Southwark Crown Court following a two-week trial, he was convicted of nine counts of fraud. 

The prosecution followed an investigation by Defra’s Counter Fraud and Investigations team which, together with its Accredited Financial Investigator, carried out separate enquiries to establish and evidence Chowdhury’s criminal benefit from the fraud.

Specialist prosecutors within the Crown Prosecution Service's Proceeds of Crime Division will now seek to recover Chowdhury’s ill-gotten gains.  

Sarah Melo, Specialist Prosecutor at the CPS Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID), said: “Kashim Chowdhury deliberately concealed the true extent of his employment so that he could obtain and be paid for multiple full-time jobs at the same time.

“He repeatedly misrepresented the true nature of his employment status, while continuing to receive full-time salaries from other public bodies.

“This was sustained and deliberate dishonesty. He knew he could not legitimately hold multiple full-time positions at the same time, but continued to conceal what he was doing.

“His actions were motivated by financial gain, allowing him to receive multiple salaries through his fraudulent conduct, which we will now seek to reclaim through the Proceeds of Crime Act.”