UK jury convicts civil servant Kashim Chowdhury on 9 fraud counts

A jury unanimously found former civil servant Kashim Chowdhury guilty of 9 fraud counts after he held overlapping public-sector jobs. The BBC said he fraudulently earned more than £284,000 in taxpayers’ money.

The verdict comprised 8 counts of fraud by false representation and 1 of fraud by failure to disclose. Between 2020 and 2023, Chowdhury held 8 overlapping full-time public-sector roles, earning £350,000 in total. That total is separate from the amount the BBC said he earned fraudulently.

Applications and payroll checks

The prosecution told the court that Chowdhury gave inaccurate information about his employment status on applications and did not tell government departments that he was already a civil servant.

Chowdhury said he took on multiple roles because he feared losing his livelihood after earlier insecure employment. He said stress, distress, trauma and panic had affected his thinking when he applied.

Chowdhury left the civil service in September 2023. The government’s National Fraud Initiative caught him in 2024 through checks of civil-service databases, including payroll records, for irregularities. The checks take place every 2 years.