Cast agency owner's statement on 'extras': 950 TL was a gesture of appreciation

Stating that he organized the event voluntarily upon a request for support for CHP member Samet Özkaş, İne said, "The 950 TL was not an extra's fee paid in exchange for participation. It was a gesture of appreciation we put in people's pockets because they didn't turn me down and came."

Cast agency owner İne stated that before July 25, Özkaş told him he was entering politics and said, "He asked me, 'Will you stand by me with people who are devoted to the CHP and support the CHP? If you have friends, will you come with them?' I replied, 'You are a young politician. I am behind you all the way, brother.'"

Ömer İne, the cast agency owner at the center of the allegations, made the following statements on CNN Türk.

"NO ONE RECEIVED MONEY FROM THE CHP" 

Arguing that neither he nor anyone from his team received money from the CHP Headquarters or Samet, İne said he carried out the organization entirely for the purpose of friendship and camaraderie. 

İne gave the following response to the claim that 950 TL was given to the extras who attended the event: 

Absolutely not. No one does a job for free today. But they helped because they are my friends. The 950 TL was not an extra's fee paid in exchange for participation. It was a gesture of appreciation we put in people's pockets because they didn't turn me down and came. 

My accounts are open. I challenge anyone. As an agency owner, can I not support my friend who is entering politics?

The character assassination I have been subjected to for days is enough. Let my accounts be examined. If there is any money deposited into my account from the Republican People's Party, I am ready to face the consequences.

WHAT HAPPENED? 

Allegations had been made that "extras" were brought to the "membership participation ceremony" held by the CHP Provincial Presidency in Istanbul on July 25 in exchange for money to make the crowd look larger. Message records regarding the "extra" organization and photos of the extras gathering in front of a shopping mall and being taken to the hall where the ceremony was held by vehicles were also shared. 

Gürsel Tekin, who was assigned to the CHP İstanbul Provincial Administration, denied the allegations at a press conference he held yesterday. Tekin said, "Many of our friends come with their own means. Some of our young friends asked us for transportation support when the numbers were high. Other than that, we are not in a position to spend money." Arguing that the news about the extras was a "dirty trap" set by the media, Tekin said, "We filed a criminal complaint immediately last night. We have never been on any dirty side, we have not set a trap for anyone. Whoever set this trap, honorable prosecutors, you will get to the bottom of it. We will go after whoever is responsible for this scheme of the FETÖ members." 

INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED 

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that an investigation has been launched within the scope of a complaint regarding the allegations that people who were not actually party members were taken to the event held by the CHP in Sarıyer through a cast agency. The statement from the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said, "Following the complaint petition submitted to our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office by the complainant's attorney, an investigation has been initiated, and the statements of the complained persons will be taken when the investigations are concluded."