Civil servant who juggled five jobs says he was 'surprised' to be charged with fraud
Kashim Chowdhury denied being dishonest when not telling employers he had other jobs.
Civil servant who held five jobs says he was 'surprised' to face fraud charge
Civil servant Kashim Chowdhury is alleged to have fraudulently made more than £284,000 by holding several public sector jobs at once.
A civil servant accused of fraudulently juggling multiple government roles says he was “surprised” when he was charged with fraud.
Kashim Chowdhury told jurors at Southwark Crown Court that he had not been dishonest by failing to inform his employers that he also had other government jobs.
“At that time I was just on auto pilot, I was like a robot, I was not thinking clearly,” he said.
Chowdhury, 55, from east London, faces nine counts of fraud. He denies dishonesty or any intention to make a dishonest gain.
From 2020 to 2023, Chowdhury held eight overlapping public sector jobs. He was required under contract to work full time and received a full-time salary from each organisation. He is accused of fraudulently earning more than £284,000.
In March 2023, Chowdhury started work for the Home Office even though he was already contracted to work full time at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the Department for Business and Trade and the Food Standards Agency.
The court heard that he took up the Home Office role while on sick leave from three of his other jobs.
Prosecuting barrister Lucy Organ asked him: “If you were really sick for work, how were you able to start your work at the Home Office?”
Chowdhury replied: “I did not want this job at the Home Office, I was told there would be adequate support and I could work whatever hours I wanted to work.”
Organ also questioned why he had not sent a sick note to the Home Office. “You were using these sick notes to be able to cope. It was all too much wasn't it?”
Chowdhury denied that, saying: “I wanted to carry on working.”
By May 2023, Chowdhury was contracted to work 183 hours a week, which is more than the number of hours in seven days.
He told the jury he had agreed with his employers to work flexibly and that his work was based on projects or outputs. He said this had been arranged “informally” through text messages, but the phones used to send those texts had gone missing when investigators searched his home.
He said that to manage the workload he would start at 07:00 on Saturdays and Sundays and would not finish until 20:00 or 21:00.
Organ asked him: “Wasn't that a bit much for you?”
“I was house bound, I was looking after my mum,” he said.
The prosecution says Chowdhury was able to conceal his overlapping jobs because he worked entirely remotely. He told employers he was the sole carer for his elderly mother, and prosecutors allege he “exploited this opportunity”.
His UKHSA line manager, Aleesha Adams, arranged a video call with him in May 2023 to discuss his sick leave.
She previously told the court she was surprised when he joined the call wearing white make-up because his name had led her to expect an Asian man with darker skin.
She said that as the meeting continued, the make-up began to rub off his forehead. “He was sweating, it was like rubbing off so it was darker underneath and darker on the neck.”
Chowdhury denied wearing make-up to the meeting.
“That’s a smear, I've never worn make-up in my life. At that particular time, I was suffering from anxiety and depression. I had already submitted my sick note, there was no need to put on make-up.”
The trial continues.