Chowdhury Admits 'Mistakes' Juggling Five UK Civil Service Jobs

A civil servant accused of fraudulently earning more than £284,000 by holding multiple public-sector jobs at once told jurors at Southwark Crown Court on October 21 that he "made mistakes" but did not believe there was criminal intent, according to BBC News.

Kashim Chowdhury, 55, of east London, faces nine counts of fraud. He denies acting dishonestly or intending to make a dishonest gain. The timeline below, drawn from testimony and prosecution evidence reported by the BBC, traces the period at issue.

What happened in 2015 and 2021?

Chowdhury told the jury he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2015 and that the condition was triggered again in 2021, the BBC reported. He said he felt "terror and panic" at the thought of losing his livelihood during the period covered by the charges, and described being "overwhelmed and stressed."

How many jobs did Chowdhury hold at the height of the alleged deceit?

By spring 2023, prosecutors allege, Chowdhury held five full-time public-sector jobs simultaneously, each paid as a full-time salary. The BBC reported he was employed at that time by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Home Office. Jurors were told he was contracted to work 183 hours a week across these roles — more hours than exist in seven days. In one month in 2023, Chowdhury was paid £11,000, according to the BBC.

What does Chowdhury say explains the overlapping jobs?

Asked by his defense barrister, Pieter Briegel, about the stress caused by the number of jobs, Chowdhury told the court the positions were a "lifeline" during a period when his mother's health had declined.

"The jobs at the time were my lifeline at the time, that was what I survived on at that particular moment. And they gave me a link to the outside, they were the only thing I had to the outside world and were a distraction from what was going on in my personal life, looking after my mum at that time."

The BBC reported that Chowdhury also testified staff and managers at several of the organizations — the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London NHS Trust, and the Department of Health and Social Care — knew he held jobs elsewhere, a claim that bears directly on the fraud charges he faces.

What does the prosecution allege he concealed?

Prosecutors allege Chowdhury failed to disclose to his employers that he held other full-time employment, and that he was able to keep the overlapping roles hidden because the work was done entirely remotely, according to the BBC. The case also turns on his stated reason for needing flexible, remote arrangements: Chowdhury told employers he was the sole carer for his elderly mother, and prosecutors allege he "exploited this opportunity" to conceal the additional jobs.

What have Chowdhury's managers told the court about his work?

A succession of line managers testified that his performance across roles fell short of expectations, the BBC reported. Abigail Mounde, who managed Chowdhury 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." When asked in court whether he accepted that criticism, including allegations that he failed to deliver work on time, Chowdhury said: "I reject them all."

What is the current status of the case?

Chowdhury's evidence continued at Southwark Crown Court as of October 21, with the defense and prosecution contesting whether his conduct amounted to criminal dishonesty or, as he maintains, mistakes made under psychological strain tied to a prior PTSD diagnosis and family caregiving pressures. The BBC's reporting does not include a verdict or sentencing date, and the trial was ongoing at the time of publication.

The case rests on two disputed questions jurors must resolve: whether Chowdhury's employers had, as he claims, at least partial knowledge of his other jobs, and whether his remote work arrangement — justified to employers by his mother's care needs — was used, as prosecutors allege, to conceal five concurrent full-time salaries from the public payroll.