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

Civil servant Kashim Chowdhury admits to making mistakes while juggling five government jobs, but denies any criminal intent.

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Kashim Chowdhury, a 55-year-old civil servant from east London, is on trial accused of nine counts of fraud. He is accused of fraudulently earning more than £284,000 by working multiple full-time public sector jobs without revealing this to his employers.

Chowdhury admitted making mistakes while juggling his five jobs, citing being "overwhelmed and stressed" and experiencing "terror and panic" at the thought of losing his livelihood. He also mentioned being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2015 and that it had been triggered in 2021.

The prosecution alleges that Chowdhury held five full-time jobs on full-time salaries within the public sector at the height of the deceit. He was employed by Defra, the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Home Office, and was contracted to work 183 hours a week.

Chowdhury's line managers have testified that he performed poorly in his roles, with Abigail Mounde, his line manager at the Department for Business and Trade, stating that he "either did late or not to the standard I would have expected" on basic tasks.

The prosecution also alleges that Chowdhury used sick notes from his doctor as part of the cover-up. Chowdhury denies acting dishonestly or intending to make a dishonest gain, and claims that some of his managers knew he had other jobs.