A 56‑year‑old civil servant from east London, Kashim Chowdhury, was found guilty of nine counts of fraud after secretly holding five full‑time government positions simultaneously, a court heard on Thursday.
Chowdhury, who had been employed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency, the Department for Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency and the Home Office in the spring of 2023, concealed his multiple appointments from the departments that hired him. Between 2020 and 2023 he held eight overlapping full‑time public‑sector posts and earned more than £350,000, according to evidence presented in court.
After a seven‑hour deliberation a jury found him guilty of eight counts of fraud by false representation and one count of fraud by failure to disclose. The judge warned that Chowdhury faced a “very significant custodial sentence” and refused him bail, citing the seriousness of the offences and his own wellbeing.
“This was sustained and deliberate dishonesty,” said Sarah Melo, a specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate. “He knew he could not legitimately hold multiple full‑time positions at the same time, but continued to conceal what he was doing.”
A Defra spokesperson said Chowdhury had “abused the trust placed in him as a public servant” and that the department would pursue all available avenues to recover the proceeds of his offending.
Chowdhury claimed he worked from home because he was caring for his mother, who lived with him in east London and had dementia and terminal cancer in 2023. However, he continued to take on additional government roles, reportedly working 183 hours a week – far more than the 168 hours available in a week.
- Defra
- Department of Health and Social Care
- UK Health Security Agency
- Department for Business and Trade
- Food Standards Agency
- Home Office
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
