Bulgarian daily Dnevnik reported on April 28 that an investigation by the Chief Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (CDCOC) in 2006 into money laundering involving the Movements of Rights and Freedoms (MRF) party was halted by the Interior Ministry.

The newspaper quoted an unnamed source from the political opposition as saying that money from the "forest mafia" went to the party’s cash-register.

According to the source, former Interior Minister Roumen Petkov referred the investigation to the Security directorate, where it was said to have been archived. Referring ongoing investigations to a different directorate served to sidetrack the investigation, Dnevnik quoted the source as saying.

When asked for comment by the newspaper, Petkov replied "Please understand that I am not in Bulgaria and I am not informed".

Former head of counter-intelligence and member of parliament for Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria, Atanas Atanasov, said that the Interior Ministry was covering up for under-the-counter funding by companies connected to the political parties in government. In an interview with Bulgarian daily, 24 Chasa, he said he knew "about an investigation by one of the directorates of the Interior Ministry, where the under-the-counter money at MRF was kept". The case was said to be named after a bird of prey.

According to Atanasov, the investigation was transferred to another directorate after "instructions from the highest levels in the ministry".

On April 26, newly appointed Interior Minister Mihail Mikov told Darik radio that "there is absolutely no mafia in Bulgaria. This notion is too strong a label to use." According to Mikov, the problems with organised crime "are not just ours, but those of the entire EU".