Court hears civil servant allegedly held five government jobs simultaneously during pandemic
Kashim Chowdhury, 55, is accused of fraudulently obtaining pay from multiple government jobs held at the same time, a court has heard. Prosecutors say he repeatedly lied to secure the posts, and allege that the scheme went undetected for years.
Jurors heard that from February 2020 to September 2023 he held eight jobs in total, earning £349,378, and at the peak had five full-time roles with contracted hours of 183 a week. A former line manager at Defra described his work as ineffective and said Chowdhury attended virtual meetings with his camera off for months, citing IT problems. Chowdhury denies nine counts of fraud.
- Chowdhury denies nine fraud charges.
- Prosecutors allege he held five jobs at once.
- Jurors heard he earned £349,378 across eight jobs.
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Government departments employ civil servants to carry out public work, with roles usually set out in contracts that specify duties and working hours. Defra is the department responsible for the environment, food and rural affairs.
Fraud cases are heard in criminal courts, where prosecutors must prove the charges and the accused can challenge the evidence. Chowdhury denies the allegations; the case concerns whether he obtained pay for jobs by deception, rather than whether holding more than one job is automatically unlawful.
The case matters because public sector salaries are paid from public funds, and departments rely on staff to meet their contractual duties. The court’s findings will determine whether the alleged conduct amounted to criminal fraud.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Civil servant ‘who fraudulently earned £280,000 by working FIVE government jobs at same time’ attended virtual meetings for months with his camera off, court hears”.