New York: Breaking his silence about energy giant Enron's downfall, former chairman Kenneth Lay has said he takes responsibility for the company's demise but blamed any criminal acts on the firm's chief financial officer.

"I take full responsibility for what happened at Enron," Lay said in his first interview since the company declared bankruptcy amid several accounting scandals in 2001.

"But saying that, I know in my mind that I did nothing criminal."

Lay also said he fears his ties with President George W Bush will prove to be a liability as prosecutors reportedly weigh criminal charges against the former chairman.

"If anything, being friends with the Bush family, including the president, has made my situation more difficult," Lay told 'New York Times' in an interview, adding "because it's probably a tougher decision not to indict me than to indict me."

Lay, a major fund-raiser in Bush's 2000 campaign is considered in prosecutors' crosshairs because he is the last well-known Enron figure to have escaped charges so far.

Former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling is under indictment and former finance chief Andrew Fastow pleaded guilty and accepted a 10-year prison term in exchange for his cooperation.

Asked if he would consider pleading guilty to anything, he responded "absolutely not."