Civil servant denies fraud charges over alleged job overlap

Kashim Chowdhury denies nine fraud charges over allegations that he concealed overlapping full-time jobs at government departments and public bodies, a jury at Southwark Crown Court has been told. Prosecutors allege he earned nearly £350,000 from eight employers between February 2020 and September 2023. The trial is ongoing, and the claims have not been established as findings. Opening the prosecution case, prosecutor Lucy Organ said Chowdhury misrepresented his existing employment when applying for roles and concealed other jobs from employers. She told jurors that he was paid for five full-time jobs in May 2023 and, at one point, was contracted to work 183 hours a week. The jobs included positions at Tower Hamlets Council, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the East London NHS Trust, the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the Department for Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency and the Home Office. The court heard that Chowdhury began working for the council in February 2020 and took a role with Defra in April 2021. The two positions overlapped for more than a year.