Civil servant who juggled five jobs says he was 'surprised' to be charged with fraud
Source: BBC Business ↗ (cross-verified by 2 outlets — full list below)
A civil servant named Kashim Chowdhury, 55, from east London, faced a Southwark Crown Court jury on nine counts of fraud after allegedly holding eight overlapping public‑sector jobs between 2020 and 2023 and being paid a full‑time salary by each. Prosecutors say he earned more than £284,000 by working for the Home Office while still under full‑time contracts with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the UK Health Security Agency, the Department for Business and Trade and the Food Standards Agency, even starting the Home Office role while on sick leave from three of those posts. Chowdhury told the court he was “surprised” by the charges, denied any dishonest intent, and claimed he was operating on “auto pilot,” not thinking clearly as he juggled the positions.
The case hinges on how Chowdhury managed the overlapping employment and the alleged misuse of sick leave. In May 2023 he was contracted for 183 hours a week—more than the total hours in a seven‑day period—and said he worked flexibly on a project‑based basis, an arrangement he claimed was informally confirmed via text messages that later vanished when investigators searched his home. Prosecuting barrister Lucy Organ highlighted contradictions, asking how he could be genuinely ill yet start a new job, and pointing to his use of sick notes to “cope” with the workload. The prosecution also argued he concealed his multiple roles by working entirely remotely and exploiting his claim of being the sole carer for an elderly mother.
During the trial, Aleesha Adams, his line manager at the UK Health Security Agency, recounted a video call in May 2023 where Chowdhury appeared wearing white make‑up, contrary to her expectation of an Asian‑looking man, and the make‑up began to smear as he sweated, suggesting anxiety and depression. He admitted to “making mistakes” in juggling the five government jobs but maintained he never intended to defraud. The outcome of the trial will determine whether his conduct constitutes criminal fraud or a mismanaged, albeit unethical, employment arrangement, with implications for public‑sector hiring practices and remote‑work oversight.
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🌍 Effects for your country
The U.S.'s central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The U.S.'s economy is growing at 2.3% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the U.S.'s own central bank rate closely. With the U.S.'s unemployment at 4.4%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the U.S. depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UK's central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UK's economy is growing at 0.8% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UK's own central bank rate closely. With the UK's unemployment at 5.6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UK depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
France's central bank rate currently stands at 2%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. France's economy is growing at 0.9% with inflation at 1.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track France's own central bank rate closely. With France's unemployment at 7.9%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is already under strain. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in France depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
Romania's central bank rate currently stands at 6.5%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. Romania's economy is growing at 0.7% with inflation at 7.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track Romania's own central bank rate closely. With Romania's unemployment at 6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in Romania depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UAE's central bank rate currently stands at 3.65%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UAE's economy is growing at 3.1% with inflation at 2.5%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UAE's own central bank rate closely. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UAE depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.