A civil servant combined 5 full-time jobs at a remote location: he really wanted money

According to Southwark Crown Court, at one point Qasim Chowdhury's working day under contract was seven and a half days a week. The Whitechapel man received nearly £350,000 from eight employers between February 2020 and September 2023. Prosecutor Lucy Organ told jurors that Choudhury used sick leave as a means of juxtaposing different positions before describing one "ridiculous" episode when he allegedly made up white paint during a video call with his boss to appear ill. The defendant denies nine counts of fraud.

At the opening of his trial, the court learned that the Briton had joined Tower Hamlets Council in February 2020 and then moved to a second job at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in April 2021, both of which had served for more than a year. For four months in 2022, he also held a third position. After leaving the council, prosecutors said, Chowdhury went on to work for another company while gaining new positions at the Department of Health and Welfare, the UK Health Agency, the Department of Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency and the Home Office. In May 2023, he was allegedly paid for five full-time jobs.

The body told jurors that Chowdhury made false statements about his current job when applying for those roles: "Obviously his employers would not have hired him if they knew he had several other full-time jobs.".

The court heard Chowdhury lied to work from home. According to reports, the British told about the “sick” mother. He then allegedly took sick leave in some jobs while continuing to work in other positions. The court heard that Chowdhury was suspended from some jobs due to "mixed anxiety and depressive disorder," but did not hand over sick leave to all his employers. In May 2023, his manager, Alicia Adams, arranged a video call to discuss his recent sick leave. Chowdhury appeared in front of the camera, "coughing and blowing his nose." Adams revealed his face appeared white while his neck was a different colour and during a 'call' she saw the make-up on his forehead start washing off, exposing his real skin underneath him, as heard in court.

There could be no doubt about it, the defendant put makeup on his face during the team meeting to try to pretend to his line manager that he was unwell. This almost ridiculous incident, in our opinion, demonstrates how far the defendant was willing to go in his deception.

Jurors learned that the alleged fraud came to light after the National Fraud Initiative warned of them. The body said more than £300,000 was credited to three Chowdhury bank accounts between March 2020 and September 2023 and nearly £250,000 was deposited in debit accounts. The trial is ongoing.