Actor Luis Manzano has been excluded from criminal charges related to the Flex Fuel Corporation investment scam, leaving many of the scam’s victims incredulous.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recently announced that Manzano, the son of veteran showbiz personalities Edu Manzano and Vilma Santos-Recto, will not be implicated in the syndicated estafa charges filed against Flex Fuel president Ildefonso Medel, Jr. and his associates.

According to NBI findings, Manzano’s connection with Flex Fuel had ceased in 2021, the precise period during which the alleged scam took place. Despite this detachment, Manzano’s role in promoting the scheme through online advertisements has stirred questions and confusion.

The saga took a dramatic turn when earlier this year, nearly 70 investors who claimed to have fallen prey to Flex Fuel Corporation’s co-ownership initiative expressed frustration.

This was prompted by the NBI’s decision to relocate the investigation of actor Luis Manzano, the company’s former chairman, from the criminal investigation division (CRID) to the bureau’s investigative division, under the direction of NBI Director Medardo de Lemos.

Jinky Sta. Isabel, a Flex Fuel investor and the spokesperson for the complainants, implored De Lemos to reconsider the decision, asserting that the initial investigators held a deep understanding of the case’s intricacies. Concerns were also raised about the potential delays in court proceedings if the case were to be shifted.

Adding complexity, Manzano sought to merge the charges against him with a prior complaint he had lodged against Flex Fuel executives, including his former business partner Ildefonso Medel Jr. Manzano’s legal team indicated their willingness to await a decision on this consolidation before addressing the estafa accusations.

Amid these developments, Manzano notably declined NBI subpoenas summoning him for the estafa case investigation.

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