A civil servant accused of pocketing wages from five full-time jobs has denied he smeared white make-up on his face to appear ill during an online meeting.
Kashim Chowdhury, 55, is accused of exploiting the post-Covid work-from-home culture to take on multiple roles from unwitting government departments.
He allegedly lied to secure overlapping jobs with employers including the Food Standards Agency, Home Office and Department for Business and Trade.
Between February 2020 and September 2023, he held eight positions, earning a total salary of £349,378, his fraud trial at Southwark Crown Court has heard.
The court was told Chowdhury received £11,015.62 in take-home wages from five employers in April 2023, followed by another £8,745.88 in May.
At the peak of his employment, he was allegedly contracted to work a staggering 183 hours a week – more hours than actually exist in seven days.
Chowdhury allegedly claimed he needed to work remotely to look after his elderly mother and took sick leave to manage his workload.
The court was told he allegedly put ‘crumbling’ white make-up on his face when his bosses became suspicious about his work, an accusation he denied today.
Kashim Chowdhury, 55, allegedly lied multiple times to secure overlapping jobs. Pictured heading to Southwark Crown Court
He told the court he had not deliberately made a performance of coughing or blowing his nose during the meeting and had genuinely been ill.
Giving evidence in his defence, Chowdhury was asked about the meeting on May 10.
His barrister Pieter Briegel said: ‘It was suggested you had some kind of make-up on that was crumbling.
‘In any event, it was separating with perspiration and there was said to be a difference in colour between your face and neck.
‘Did you have any face make-up on 10 May?’
Chowdhury replied: ‘I have never worn any make-up in my life and I didn’t need to wear make-up on that day.’
The barrister said it had also been suggested he was ‘blowing your nose and making a performance of coughing’.
‘That day I did have a genuine cold,’ Chowdhury replied.
At the peak of his employment, Chowdhury was allegedly contracted to work a staggering 183 hours a week – more hours than actually exist in seven days
A court sketch of Kashim Chowdhury appearing at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday
Asked whether he had waved tissues at his screen, he said: ‘No, I did not need to wave any tissues.’
He confirmed his principal concern at the time had been his mental health and his mother’s cancer diagnosis.
Chowdhury told jurors he had applied for hundreds of public sector jobs while suffering from PTSD and was desperately seeking stable employment.
He said he was first diagnosed with PTSD in 2015 and that his symptoms had resurfaced while working for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Tower Hamlets council in 2021.
He denied deliberately concealing existing jobs on application forms, claiming he had been in a state of ‘severe trauma and distress’.
The court heard that Chowdhury had been employed by Defra since April 12, 2021 but had answered ‘No’ when asked whether he was already a civil servant on another application.
Asked why he had given that answer, he said: ‘At that time I was not thinking about the definition of a civil servant and I was in a precarious position at Defra.’
His barrister asked how he could reconcile the answer with a declaration that the information he provided was true.
‘I submitted the form without much thought,’ Chowdhury replied. ‘I was in a distressed and panicked state. I wasn’t thinking.’
At the peak of his employment, Chowdhury (pictured on October 12) allegedly held five full-time posts and was contracted to work 183 hours a week
Chowdhury (pictured on October 12) allegedly claimed he needed to work remotely to look after his elderly mother and took sick leave to manage his workload
Asked why he was panicked, Chowdhury said: ‘I was told at Defra I needed to start looking for jobs elsewhere and that triggered my previous PTSD.’
Chowdhury said he regarded his Defra job as ‘precarious and uncertain’ and preferred to list his more established employment at Tower Hamlets Council.
His barrister also questioned him about an application to the UK Health Security Agency, submitted in August 2022, which omitted three other jobs.
‘You know what the Crown are going to say. They’ll say it was deliberate,’ the barrister said.
Chowdhury replied: ‘It wasn’t a deliberate conscious act. I was under considerable trauma and distress.
‘I wasn’t checking what I was saying or doing on those forms. I just wanted to hit the submit button.’
He said he did not consider the other short-term jobs relevant because they were not permanent contracts.
Judge Mark Weekes challenged the apparent contradiction.
He said: ‘There’s a slight tension. You’re saying it’s not a conscious act to omit, but by saying you didn’t think they were relevant. It suggests a decision.’
Chowdhury replied: ‘At the time I was under severe trauma and distress. My judgement was impaired.’
He was also questioned about a contract at an east London NHS trust which overlapped with his employment at Defra and Tower Hamlets.
Chowdhury accepted that he had told a manager, Sally MacVinish Patel, about his Tower Hamlets job but had not disclosed his Defra employment.
Asked why, he said: ‘Because it wasn’t relevant to this position.’
He insisted there was ‘no conflict of interest’ and claimed an agreement had been reached allowing him to complete work during evenings and weekends.
The court also heard that Chowdhury had accepted positions with the Home Office, Department for Business and Trade and UK Health Security Agency despite claiming he did not want the jobs.
‘The offers came all at once and they coincided with my mum’s health deteriorating,’ he said. ‘I had individual discussions with all my line managers. I told them I didn’t want to take these jobs even though I applied for them.’
Chowdhury, of Whitechapel, denies nine counts of fraud.
The trial continues.
