The key facts
- Kashim Choudhury, 55, denies nine counts of fraud; the prosecution says he concealed five full-time jobs and earned more than £284,000.
- He claims some of his managers knew about his other jobs and cites PTSD diagnosed in 2015.
- The prosecution cites the use of sick notes and a make-up incident on a video call as evidence of deception.
Defendant's evidence
Civil servant Kashim Choudhury, 55, from east London, is charged with nine counts of fraud: according to the prosecution, he illegally earned more than £284,000 by holding several full-time positions in the public sector. Giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court, he admitted that he 'made mistakes' but said he 'does not believe there was any criminal intent'. He said he was 'overloaded and under stress' and felt 'dread and panic' at the thought of losing his means of subsistence. He told the jury that in 2015 he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, which worsened in 2021. He denies acting dishonestly and intending to gain a dishonest advantage.
The prosecution's five-jobs case
The prosecution says Choudhury did not tell employers about his other full-time employment. In spring 2023, according to the court, he worked at Defra, the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Department for Business and Trade and the Home Office, being contractually required to work 183 hours a week — more than there are hours in seven days. Each post was paid as a full-time position; in one month of 2023 he received £11,000. According to the prosecution, secrecy was ensured by fully remote work: he told employers he was the sole carer for his elderly mother and, the prosecution alleges, 'exploited this opportunity'.
Managers' evidence and sick notes
Choudhury claims that managers at Defra, the London borough of Tower Hamlets, East London NHS Trust and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) knew about his other jobs. A number of his line managers told the jury he performed poorly. Abigail Maunde from the Department for Business and Trade said: 'Any basic tasks I assigned him, he completed late or not to the expected level.' The prosecution also alleges that Choudhury used sick notes as part of his cover: he presented some employers with fit notes citing 'mixed anxiety and depressive disorder', but not others. The prosecutor called this 'confirmation of the dishonesty of this whole story'.
The make-up incident
Choudhury's manager at the UK Health Security Agency, Aleesha Adams, arranged a video call in May 2023 to support his return to work after an absence. She told the court she was surprised to see him in white make-up, as his name had led her to expect an Asian man with darker skin. She said that during the call the make-up began to come off his forehead: 'He was sweating, as if it was rubbing off, and underneath was darker skin, as on his neck.' Prosecutor Lucy Organ told the court: 'This almost laughable episode demonstrates how far the defendant was prepared to go in his deception.' The trial continues.
Image source, PA Media Civil servant Kashim Chowdhury is accused of fraudulently earning more than £284,000 by working multiple full-time public sector jobs
