UK civil servant Kashim Chowdhury convicted of fraud over five simultaneous government jobs
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
A London jury found civil servant Kashim Chowdhury guilty of nine fraud counts for secretly holding several full-time government jobs at once.
The case turns on abuse of trust and work-from-home oversight in the public sector.
Background
Kashim Chowdhury is a civil servant from east London who held roles across several UK government departments, including Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency, the Department for Business and Trade and the Home Office. Prosecutors said he gave inaccurate details about his employment status on application forms and did not tell departments he was already a civil servant, exploiting the work-from-home culture that began during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was allowed to work entirely from home because he said he was caring for his mother, who had dementia and was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2023.
How it unfolded
- Feb 2020 to Sep 2023Chowdhury held eight public sector roles with overlapping periods, earning about £350,000 in total.
- Mar 2023He was on sick leave from four of his employers while continuing to work at the Home Office without telling it he was ill.
- Spring 2023He held five overlapping government jobs, with contracts adding up to 183 hours a week.
- May 2023His manager at the UK Health Security Agency, Aleesha Adams, organised a video call because he had been on sick leave for three months.
- Nov 9, 2026A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London unanimously convicted him on eight counts of fraud by false representation and one count of fraud by failure to disclose, after about seven hours of deliberation.
- Nov 9, 2026The judge told Chowdhury he faces a "very significant custodial sentence" and refused him bail; no sentencing date was given in the reports.
Key terms
- civil servant
- A person employed in the public sector by a government department or agency, hired rather than elected.
- fraud by false representation
- A UK offence of dishonestly making a false statement to gain money or property.
- bail
- Pre-trial restrictions imposed on a charged person to ensure they do not obstruct justice and appear in court.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Official
- A Defra spokesperson said Chowdhury had "abused the trust placed in him as a public servant" and that the department would use all available avenues to recover the proceeds of his offending.
- Analysts
- Melo of the Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate called it "sustained and deliberate dishonesty," saying Chowdhury knew he could not legitimately hold multiple full-time positions but continued to conceal what he was doing.
- Expert
- His manager Aleesha Adams told the jury that during a video call she noticed he appeared to be wearing white make-up to look ill, which seemed to rub off his forehead.
Still unverified
Reports differ on his age: the BBC gave it as 56, while the Independent said 55. A sentencing date was not given in the reports.