The Aporia · More than 300 public sector workers caught with multiple jobs after London civil servant held five roles

More than 300 public sector workers caught with multiple jobs after London civil servant held five roles

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Burford, R. (2026, November 10). More than 300 public sector workers caught with multiple jobs after London civil servant held five roles. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/public-sector-workers-multiple-jobs-london-civil-servant-fraud-b1304340.html

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Quick Summary

A London civil servant named Chowdhury earned nearly £350,000 from eight employers between February 2020 and September 2023 while holding multiple full-time jobs simultaneously. The case is part of a larger investigation that has recovered over £1.35 million in fraudulent salary payments across various government departments over the past decade. Prosecutors claim Chowdhury used tactics like wearing white makeup during video calls to appear ill, and at one point was contracted for 183 hours per week across five full-time roles. The National Fraud Initiative is expanding efforts to identify more cases of workers holding multiple public sector jobs fraudulently.

Written by AI on 2026-11-10, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Kashim Chowdhury, 56, was found guilty on November 9, 2026, of nine counts of fraud after secretly holding five full-time government jobs simultaneously and earning over £350,000 in taxpayer money. The fraud involved working for departments like Defra, the Department of Health and Social Care, UKHSA, the Department for Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency, and the Home Office. Chowdhury used remote work policies and sick notes to hide his multiple jobs from employers.

The case was heard at Southwark Crown Court in London. Prosecutors alleged that after leaving a job with Tower Hamlets Council, Chowdhury began working for other departments while concealing his employment status. Specialist prosecutor Sarah Melo of the CPS said Chowdhury deliberately concealed his employment to receive multiple full-time salaries.

Additionally, the case involved disputes over Chowdhury's mother’s will and property in London, where she lived. The High Court heard accusations that Chowdhury had bullied his mother into signing over her family home while caring for her in her final months before her death in July 2023.

Written for “Fraudster Civil Servant Found Guilty” on 2026-11-10, grounded in this article and the 10 other(s) covering the same event.

Why this leaning score

This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.

No political leaning scored for article 142069 · logged 2026-11-10

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 18% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Civil servant who juggled five jobs raking in £350,000 found guilty of fraud Same event

Evening Standard

Hedges 5 of 24 claims Outlet record 64/100

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

18%

2 of 11 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

Rachael Burford

63 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

The Crown Prosecution Service said it will seek to recover Chowdhury's fraudulent earnings through a proceeds of crime hearing.

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Also by Rachael Burford

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2026-11-09 · Evening Standard

Budget 2026: What tax rises and spending pledges will Chancellor announce?

2026-10-26 · Evening Standard

Sadiq Khan: Oxford Street pedestrianisation will rid road of 'dross' American candy shops

2026-10-25 · Evening Standard

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2026-10-23 · Evening Standard

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 63 articles by Rachael Burford →

Claims (11 extracted, 2 hedged)

Some £1.35 million in fraudulent salary payments was recovered over the ten-year period from staff working across different government departments. asserted

million → recover → departments

In one incident described by prosecutor Lucy Organ as “laughable”, Chowdhury allegedly wore white make-up during a video call with his boss, seemingly to appear ill. uncertain

Chowdhury → describe → boss

Between February 2020 and September 2023, he earned almost £350,000 from eight employers, including more than £280,000 in gross pay for months when he held more than one full-time job, jurors were told. asserted

jurors → earn → job

The Crown Prosecution Service said it will seek to recover Chowdhury's fraudulent earnings through a proceeds of crime hearing. asserted

it → say → hearing

The National Fraud Initiative said it was working to identify more employees abusing the system after discovering 13 cases of polygamous working in the 2024 to 2025 financial year. asserted

it → say → year

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "The National Fraud Initiative continues to act as a key tool in protecting the taxpayer's hard-earned cash, with a recent pilot across local boroughs making almost £490,000 of savings." The civil service workforce has expanded significantly in recent years, growing from 382,945 full-time employees on the payroll in 2021 to more than 442,000 last year. asserted

workforce → say → 442,000

During the trial, Chowdhury told the court that work was his “lifeline”. asserted

work → tell → court

The two roles overlapped for more than a year, the court heard. asserted

court → overlap → year

For four months in 2022, he also held a third position with East London NHS Trust. asserted

he → hold → Trust

After leaving the east London council, prosecutors said Chowdhury continued working for Defra while gaining further jobs with the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency, the Department for Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency and the Home Office. asserted

Chowdhury → leave → Business

In May 2023, he was being paid for five full-time roles and at one point was contracted to work 183 hours a week – more hours than actually exist in seven days. uncertain

he → pay → days

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Articles to 10 Nov 2026

More than 300 public sector workers caught with multiple jobs after London civil servant held five roles

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Claims (11 extracted, 2 hedged)