The chief executive of a company awarded £40 million in government Covid contracts has been convicted of sexually assaulting three female employees.
Despite being found guilty in November, Mohammed Kashif Khokhar, remains chief executive of KAU Media Group (KMG). The case has not been reported until now.
Khokhar, 43, was arrested in February 2021 but continued to attend work events, including a trip to Las Vegas to “celebrate our success throughout the year”, according to company social media posts.
Weeks after being found guilty, he was photographed at KMG’s Christmas party. Khokhar’s conviction was uncovered by the OpenDemocracy website.
One of his victims told the site that she was “disgusted” that he had been allowed to continue in his role and urged the business to “take some responsibility for your staff’s safety”.
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The Times and OpenDemocracy previously revealed claims from KMG staff that they were made to work “flat out” when they were meant to be furloughed during the pandemic and were threatened with the sack if they spoke out.
In an audio recording, Khokhar could be heard saying: “If someone makes accusations about the business, about furlough … or f***ing reporting to HMRC, they can go f*** themselves.”
The government gave the company multimillion-pound contracts to deliver personal protective equipment (PPE). The deals were awarded without competitive tender, despite the London-based digital marketing firm having no prior experience in manufacturing or supplying PPE.
Khokhar, known as Kash, banked £10 million for himself and his wife. Since then he has bragged about his expensive lifestyle, posting pictures of himself online wearing a £130,000 watch behind the wheel of a Lamborghini and at Wembley watching England play in the Euro 2020 final.
In November Khokhar was found guilty of four charges of sexual assault against three women. He was acquitted on charges against three other women.
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A victim, whose identity cannot be revealed for legal reasons, said that the trial had been gruelling, with Khokhar’s lawyers “trying to make us out like we are terrible, completely unbelievable people”.
She added: “It was a full character assassination for every one of us. I was terrified afterwards, but the whole reason I did it was to protect the other women who work for him.”
The court was told that the work culture at KMG revolved around lavish parties.
Khokhar said that many of the allegations against him were “bollocks”, claiming: “They see me as this millionaire … and they see someone who’s a target to take down.”
This month he put his five-bedroom London home — which boasts a cinema room and jacuzzi — on the market for £2.2 million.
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Khokhar was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work, complete 40 rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay £2,000 in compensation to each of the three victims, as well as £9,000 in prosecution costs.
The woman OpenDemocracy spoke to said: “He was found guilty of sexual assault and he’s still just carrying on like usual. Nothing has changed.” She called on the company to take action, adding: “I just want people to know so they can make an informed decision when they’re choosing to work with someone, to know what type of person they are.”
When The Times published its investigation in 2021, Khokhar responded saying there was no “intention of fraud” by the company. But he admitted his workers were asked to be “reactive” to clients while they were on furlough. He also confirmed that staff had never been repaid for reduced wages, but said that funds had been repaid to HMRC.
On Wednesday, a spokesman for the company said: “Furlough monies received by KAU Media Group Ltd were repaid in full to HMRC pro-actively without any prompt in June 2020. In recognition of KMG’s transparency, no further action was deemed necessary by HMRC.”
In a statement, Khokhar said that he maintained his innocence in the sexual assault case, despite the guilty verdict, claiming there were unspecified failings in the police investigation against him.
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“I now look to put this difficult period behind me and move forward to the future, and to building upon the successes of KAU Media Group Ltd and its clients,” Khokhar said.
