Convicted conman, Paul Parmar who got highly paid jobs as a quantity surveyor despite having no qualifications, was "a very confident person, very approachable and very friendly", his former PA and logistics manager told Isleworth Crown Court earlier this week.

"Some people found his manner a bit brisk. He had a lot to do and didn't want to be involved in chit-chat," said Alison Lee who worked with him at Pel Projects Management PMM, the firm he took for £800,000 before departing with all the paperwork.

"He appeared very busy a lot of the time.

"He was always taking calls on his mobile and I assumed he was a typical businessman," said Ms Lee.

However, she became concerned that he spent so much time at his father-in-law's office in Hounslow and she was worried that she might be replaced by someone who worked there, Anita Ratoo.

"I didn't want to be out of a job at Christmas time and he was under-utilising me," she said.

When she was taken on in September 2002, Parmar, who has admitted his part in a £1m fraud on three companies involving overpayment to sub-contractors for non-existent work, was responsible for work at Heathrow's Terminal Two.

"The job was not going smoothly and I was surprised when he went off to Dubai on business for his father-in-law," said Ms Lee.

"He was due back after a week and then I got a call saying his son had suspected meningitis and he wouldn't be back yet.

"There were people who wanted to arrange a meeting to discuss costs.

"It seemed important and pressing to them. I just fobbed them off," she said.

Her other concern was the state of the files.

"I wanted to organise them but he kept saying 'No, no, we're going to move'. They were in real disarray."

Parmar was also being asked to reconcile the accounts early in 2003 and "sent off letters to suppliers demanding that they break down their invoices and such like," said Ms Lee.

At one point his brother was brought in to help and took all the accounts to his father-in-law's office "because it was quieter for him to work there," she said.

Parmar, 37, a convicted fraudster, got jobs with Frederick Sage & Co, a subsidiary of Pirin based in Alperton, Coffey Construction Ltd of Southgate and Pel Project Management Ltd of Oldbury in Birmingham.

Sage contracts included My Hotel, Club Kensington and a house in Eaton Square while Coffeys worked for Taylor Woodrow on the Royal Albert Hall and Pel Projects had work on Heathrow terminals.

He then employed bent sub-contractors and funnelled huge sums in their direction and his before disappearing with the paper work and leaving the companies with a large hole in their finances - prosecutor Michael Holland told the jury in the trial.

Parmar has admitted his part in the £1m fraud while his two sub-contractors have denied conspiring with him.

His wife, said to have lived the high life on the proceeds, denies living on the proceeds of crime.

In the dock are Fatah Bhalla, 48, of Northumberland Avenue, Isleworth, whose company Advanced Distribution Ltd ADL of Hounslow was one of the sub-contractors, and Aytac Asaf, 37, of Sycamore Avenue, Blackfen, Sidcup, whose firm was AJ Construction Ltd.

With them is Parmar's wife, Sonal Parmar, 29, who lived with him at Kensington Heights, Sheepcote Road, Harrow.

The trial continues.