UK civil servant found guilty of fraud over five simultaneous jobs

Kashim Chowdhury, a 56-year-old civil servant from east London, has been found guilty of nine counts of fraud for secretly holding multiple government jobs at the same time, allegedly earning over £284,000 in taxpayers' money. According to prosecutors, Chowdhury engaged in "deliberate, intentional dishonesty" by providing false information on job applications and failing to disclose his other employment to government departments.

He worked for eight overlapping full-time public sector roles between 2020 and 2023, earning a total of £350,000 while simultaneously working 183 hours weekly. Chowdhury told the court that he accepted multiple roles due to his past experiences of job insecurity and post-traumatic stress disorder following a redundancy in 2013. However, his former managers testified that he frequently switched off his camera during video calls and displayed signs of deception during meetings, such as wearing make-up to appear ill.

Chowdhury was identified through the government's National Fraud Initiative in 2024 and resigned from his position in September 2023.