Civil servant accused of holding five jobs totalling 183 hours a week

Updated 13:37 14 Oct 2026 GMT+1Published 12:30 14 Oct 2026 GMT+1

Civil servant Kashim Chowdhury, 55, is also accused of 'pretending to be ill' and putting on white makeup in a video call

A civil servant taking home five salaries was contracted to work more hours that exist in a week, according to prosecutors.

Kashim Chowdhury, from Whitechapel, east London, has been accused of lying about his employment status by pretending to work 183 hours a week for five jobs.

There are 186 hours in a week, making this physically impossible.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court were told that the 55-year-old earned almost £350,000 from eight employers between February 2020 and September 2023.

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Prosecutor Lucy Organ recalled a ‘laughable’ incident in May 2023 when Chowdhury allegedly put on white makeup during a video call to pretend that he was ill.

His UKHSA manager Aleesha Adams had arranged a video call to discuss his recent sick leave, as the court heard that Chowdhury had told employers he had to work from home to care for his ‘unwell’ mother.

Chowdhury appeared on camera ‘coughing and blowing his nose’, the court heard, while Adams said that his face appeared white, as his neck was a different colour.

Kashim Chowdhury denies nine counts of fraud (PA)

“There could be no doubt about it, the defendant had applied makeup to his face for this Teams meeting to try and pretend to his line manager that he was unwell,” she said.

“This almost laughable incident demonstrates, we say, quite how far the defendant was willing to go in his deceit.”

Chowdhury started working at Tower Hamlets Council in February 2020, followed by Defra in April 2021.

During 2022, he also worked for East London NHS Trust for four months. After leaving the council, he reportedly took further positions at the Department of Health and Social Care, UK Health Security Agency, Department for Business and Trade, Food Standards Agency and Home Office.

By May 2023, he allegedly held five full-time jobs simultaneously, totalling 183 contracted hours weekly.

The defendant denies nine counts of fraud.

Chowdhury has been accused of earning £350,000 from eight employers (PA)

Organ said that between March 2020 and September 2023, Chowdhury had over £300,000 in credits into his three bank accounts and nearly £250,000 in debits.

“He also made, the prosecution say, continuing implied false representations by having a full-time job and not revealing to his employers that he had other full-time employment,” she added.

“In fact members of the jury, you will hear evidence that at times he positively lied about his employment history and having other full-time jobs.

“He concealed that he had multiple simultaneous employments from his employers. As a result, he was paid for multiple full-time jobs at the same time.

“We say those jobs were obtained by false representation – fraud – and made a financial gain for himself from this fraud.”

Featured Image Credit: PA

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