WFM civil servant with five jobs said he filled in applications wrongly because he’s suffering from PTSD

A civil servant accused of juggling five full-time government jobs told a court he had made mistakes in his job applications but insisted he had no intention of defrauding anyone.

Kashim Chowdhury, 55, said he had failed to disclose some of his overlapping jobs because he was suffering from stress, panic and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Chowdhury allegedly lied repeatedly to secure jobs with employers including the Home Office, the Food Standards Agency and the Department for Business and Trade.

Between February 2020 and September 2023 he held eight jobs, earning a total of £349,378, Southwark Crown Court has heard.

At the peak of his employment he allegedly held five full time posts and was contracted to work 183 hours a week.

Giving evidence in his defence, Chowdhury accepted that he had failed to complete employment forms accurately.

His barrister, Pieter Briegel, asked: ‘Do you accept there were failures on your part to complete forms accurately?’

Chowdhury replied: ‘I accept I made mistakes but I do not believe there was criminal intent.’

Asked whether he accepted giving inaccurate statements about his employment history, he said: ‘I accept I did not provide accurate information but I do not accept there was an attempt to defraud.’

He claimed some of his colleagues and managers had known about his other jobs, identifying individuals at Defra, recruitment agency Venn Group, Tower Hamlets council and other employers.

Asked why he had failed to disclose other employment on some occasions, Chowdhury said he had been suffering from stress and the recurrence of PTSD.

He told jurors he had originally been diagnosed with the condition in 2015 and that his symptoms had resurfaced while working for Defra and Tower Hamlets council in 2021.

He also strongly rejected criticisms of his work performance made by former managers during the prosecution case.

Asked whether he accepted allegations that he had failed to complete tasks promptly or participate properly in meetings, he replied: ‘I absolutely reject them all.’

Jurors have previously heard that one of his managers at the Department for Business and Trade described his performance as ‘very poor’ and claimed he could not carry out even basic management tasks to the expected standard.

Chowdhury said he believed criticisms of his performance had been unfair.

‘I believe those comments were unfair and unreasonable,’ he told the court.

When the judge asked whether he accepted that such criticisms had nevertheless been made, he replied: ‘Yes, your honour.’

Chowdhury also gave evidence about three mobile phones and memory sticks which were lost after being collected during the investigation.

The court previously heard that the devices had been sent by courier to Defra’s digital forensics unit in Newcastle but never arrived.

Mr Briegel referred to an email from Chowdhury’s solicitor describing him as ‘extremely distressed and upset’ by the loss of the phones, which contained information he regarded as irreplaceable.

Asked what information had been stored on the devices, Chowdhury listed contemporaneous notes, personal journals, WhatsApp messages and documents relating to his government work.

He said the material included messages exchanged with line managers, colleagues and recruitment agencies, as well as project plans, meeting notes, risk registers and reports.

Asked about the tone of the feedback he had kept, Chowdhury replied: ‘They were very positive.’

He explained that he had kept records of work he was proud of in case he needed to refer to them during performance reviews.

The defendant was also questioned about a Sony Vaio laptop which the defence has suggested disappeared during a search of a property in Princelet Street, Whitechapel.

Chowdhury said he became aware that the computer was missing around December 2023, when belongings seized during the investigation were being returned.

It contained work documents, project plans, meeting notes, risk registers and performance review reports, he said.

Chowdhury also gave evidence about his personal background and employment history.

The court heard he has no previous convictions or cautions.

His parents had moved to Britain from Bangladesh and bought the family home in Princelet Street, where he grew up and continued to live.

He said he had lived at the property with his mother, who died in July 2023.

Chowdhury told jurors he married his wife in Bangladesh in May 2019, having met her through a relative two years earlier.

He described studying politics and history before obtaining a master’s degree in public policy and management.

He subsequently worked in government, including a lengthy period at the Department for Education.

Chowdhury said he later struggled with uncertainty over employment, particularly after leaving an earlier government position.

He told the court he had received £10,000 in compensation following a personal injury claim connected with his PTSD.

Asked about his sense of job security Chowdhury said: ‘I’ve always had short term, fixed term, insecure jobs and when it ended it would have a devastating effect on me.’

The court heard Chowdhury began working for Defra in April 2021 while he was already employed by Tower Hamlets council.

He acknowledged that he had not submitted an updated formal declaration of interests to the council when he took the additional job.

But he claimed he had told a colleague at Tower Hamlets about his Defra employment around December 2021 or January 2022.

Chowdhury said: ‘I wasn’t certain the job at Tower Hamlets was going to last, so that created a lot of stress and anxiety.’

The prosecution alleges he dishonestly concealed overlapping employment while claiming to fulfil his contracted working hours.

Chowdhury, of Whitechapel, denies nine counts of fraud.

The trial continues.