US Fed Chair says Justice Department prepares to bring criminal charges against him

Jerome Powell, the head of the US Federal Reserve System (the Fed, which acts as the central bank), said that the Justice Department is preparing to bring criminal charges against him, Report informs.

"On Friday [January 9], the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June," Powell said in a statement posted on the Fed's website.

According to the regulator's head, his testimony concerned the project to renovate the Fed's building complex. Powell pointed out that "this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the [US President Donald Trump] administration's threats and ongoing pressure."

The US Fed Chair emphasized that the investigation is merely a pretext and that the real reason is that the Fed "sets interest rates based on the best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president."

Powell stressed that he intends to continue to fulfill his duties as head of the Fed.