Civil servant on trial over five concurrent government jobs
Prosecutors allege Chowdhury held up to five full-time civil service jobs at once, with total earnings of £349,378 across eight employers. The overlaps, they say, were found by reconstructing employment dates rather than any shared payroll check. He denies the charges.
Kashim Chowdhury is on trial at Southwark Crown Court, accused of holding several full-time government jobs at the same time. Prosecutors say the overlapping roles ran from February 2020 to September 2023; he denies the fraud charges.
What the Prosecution Alleges
The case opened Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, before Judge Ian Jobson, with Lucy Organ prosecuting. Chowdhury, 55, is accused of working up to five full-time posts at once and contracting for 183 hours a week, Organ told the court — more hours than a week contains.
Prosecutors put total earnings across eight employers at £349,378. Around £284,613 of that, they say, was paid for five concurrent full-time jobs. Both figures come from the prosecution and have not been proven.
The employers named include Tower Hamlets Council, where he worked from February 2020 to April 2021, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from April 2021 to September 2022. Others cited: East London NHS Trust for four months in 2022, the UK Health Security Agency, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Business and Trade, the Home Office, and the Food Standards Agency.
Organ said he applied for roles while answering "no" to questions about existing civil service employment. A Department for Business and Trade application dated Aug. 7, 2022 named Tower Hamlets as his most recent employer; a Home Office application from Nov. 14, 2021 drew the same "no."
The Missing Check
Each organization hired and paid him on its own. According to the prosecution, the overlaps surfaced only when investigators reconstructed employment dates — not through any shared payroll or personnel check between departments.
Prosecutors say sick leave served a second purpose: it explained an absence from one job without revealing he was elsewhere. Organ told the court he applied white makeup to appear unwell on video calls, and that he cited caring for an elderly mother and a need to work remotely.
His line manager, Dan McCartney, testified that Chowdhury should have received a performance management review, according to the court account. Prosecutors also said he appeared out of his depth and unable to complete rudimentary tasks when he did show up.
The count of jobs is disputed; earlier accounts cited five or eight concurrent roles, and prosecutors have referred to as many as ten. Chowdhury, of Whitechapel, denies the charges, and the case has not gone to a jury.
Where It Stands
The trial continues at Southwark Crown Court, with testimony expected into December 2026. Nothing in the public record yet shows a change to how the named departments verify concurrent public-sector employment.
Chowdhury remains entitled to the presumption of innocence. The verdict will decide whether the hours, the earnings total, and the count of jobs hold as charged.
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