Bulgaria's Economy and Energy Minister Rumen Ovcharov, who was suspended over a large-scale corruption investigation at the beginning of the month, has extended his leave by June 2.

Rumen Ovcharov will be replaced by Deputy Minister Anna Yaneva, a statement by the energy and economy ministry said.

The new twist in the unfolding drama over whether the minister will be forced to leave the government comes just hours after Ovcharov was reported to be back in office.

Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev told Ovcharov to take a ten-day leave at the beginning of the month but the order came into effect only after the end of their visit to Moscow, on May 10.

Minister Ovcharov faced widespread calls to resign over allegations of siphoning off massive amounts of state funds. He has been accused of meddling in official investigations of high-level corruption involving the Sofia city heating company and tobacco monopoly Bulgatabac.

Last week Ovcharov was given the thumbs down by a part of his own fellows - the hard-core leftists in the Bulgarian Socialist Party, who said the corruption flap had damaged the reputation of the party.

The minister, however, has so far appeared adamant not resign over what has been described as a mega-scandal.

The Socialist Party did not live up to expectations in their showing in the country's first European vote on May 20 after losing, albeit by a small margin, to the centrist GERB party.

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