Civil servant admits he 'made mistakes' juggling five government jobs

**Civil servant admits he 'made mistakes' juggling five government jobs**

Civil servant Kashim Chowdhury is accused of fraudulently earning more than £284,000 by holding multiple full-time public sector jobs

The civil servant accused of fraudulently making more than £284,000 by juggling several public-sector roles admitted he had made mistakes, but said: ''I do not believe there was criminal intent".

Giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court, Kashim Chowdhury told the jury he had made mistakes because he was ''overwhelmed and stressed'' and had felt ''terror and panic'' at the prospect of losing his livelihood.

He said he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2015 and that it had been triggered in 2021.

The 55-year-old, who is from east London, is on trial facing nine counts of fraud. He denies dishonesty and denies intending to make a dishonest gain.

The prosecution says Chowdhury did not tell his employers that he had other full-time work. But Chowdhury told the jury that some of his managers were aware he had other jobs.

His managers at Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London NHS Trust and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) all knew he had other jobs.

The prosecution alleges that at the peak of the deception, Chowdhury was holding five full-time public sector jobs at once on full-time salaries.

In spring 2023, he was working for Defra, the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Department for Business and Trade and the Home Office. The jury heard that during this time he was contracted for 183 hours a week - more than there are hours in seven days.

Each role paid a full-time salary, and Chowdhury received £11,000 for one month's work in 2023.

The prosecution says Chowdhury was able to conceal the overlapping jobs because he worked entirely remotely. He told employers he was the sole carer for his elderly mother, and the prosecution alleges he "exploited this opportunity".

A series of Chowdhury's line managers told the jury that he performed badly in his roles.

Abigail Mounde, Chowdhury's line manager at the Department for Business and Trade, told the court: ''Any basic tasks I asked him to do he either did late or not to the standard I would have expected."

The prosecution also alleges Chowdhury used sick notes from his doctor as part of the cover-up.

But the court heard that while he was telling some employers he was sick and unfit to work because of "mixed anxiety and depressive disorder" he was not providing sick notes to other employers. The prosecution said this ''underlines the dishonesty involved in the whole affair".

His line manager at the Health Security Agency, Aleesha Adams, arranged a video call in May 2023 to support his return to work after a period of absence.

She said she was surprised when he joined the call wearing white make-up because his name led her to expect an Asian man with darker skin.

She told the court that as the call continued, the make-up began to come off his forehead. ''He was sweating, it was like rubbing off so it was darker underneath and darker on the neck."

Prosecuting barrister Lucy Organ told the court: ''This almost laughable incident demonstrates quite how far the defendant was willing to go in his deceit.''

The trial continues.