$6 million bet illegal, lawyer says

A rendering of the Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower, which includes a 70-story skyscraper and two 47-story apartment buildings Law experts say a wager between a South Korean company and a group of war veterans is as illegal as other forms of gambling in Vietnam.

A lawyer has called a wager illegal in which several Vietnamese war veterans and construction workers bet a South Korean builder US$6 million it couldn’t complete Vietnam’s tallest tower on schedule. On Thursday, South Korea-owned Keangnam-Vina Company and several Vietnamese veterans signed a commitment in which the company pledged to wrap up the structural work of the Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower on schedule by October 2010. VIETNAM’S TALLEST TOWER TO-BE Work on the US$1.05 billion project began in August last year. The 70-story main tower will stand 336 meters tall, about 50 meters shorter than the Empire State Building in New York. By 2007 records, it would be the 17th tallest building in the world. The country’s second tallest building, a 68-story skyscraper, is also slated for completion in HCMC’s District 1 by 2010. If the South Korean firm misses the deadline, it would lose VND100 billion ($6 million) to Vietnamese veterans and vice versa. Both the betting parties said they would donate the proceeds to charity. The bet stemmed from an open letter issued on Thursday on the Cuu Chien Binh Viet Nam (Vietnam War Veterans) newspaper by several veterans, construction experts, and engineers who doubted the South Korean builder could conclude the tower as promised. But speaking with Thanh Nien Saturday, lawyer Pham Quoc Hung from the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association said the wager between the two sides was illegal. The agreement would only be legal if it was designed as a “penalty fee” or “bonus reward” transaction between the investor and the contractor of the project, Hung elaborated. Since the war veterans and construction experts have nothing to do with the tower project, the transaction would be sheer betting in a country where gambling is illegal, Hung said. Under Vietnamese laws, locals are forbidden to gamble money and can face criminal charges when caught, Hung said. But foreigners are allowed to gamble at several licensed casinos. Le Hong Son, head of the HCMC-based Saigon Notary Office, agreed that the deal was illegal. Speaking with Thanh Nien Saturday, Oh ChunSik , a manager at Keangnam Enterprises, said the firm had signed the agreement not for gambling purposes, but to protect its brand name instead. Another allegation In early October, several journalists sent a letter to the prime minister, the Hanoi government, and agencies concerned accusing Keangnam-Vina Company of selling apartments before completing them. Vietnamese laws prohibit houses or apartments to be sold before the completion of the building’s foundation. In late October, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong instructed the Hanoi municipal administration to probe the allegation and report back. But Hanoi vice mayor Phi Thai Binh said inspectors had failed to report back Saturday as promised. He attributed the delay to flooding in late October that left at least 22 people dead or missing in Hanoi. He declined to comment on the betting deal. Reported by Kap Long - Hong Minh