Huệ Nhã wrote this article in Vietnamese, published in Luat Khoa Magazine on July 5, 2025.
The Arrest and the Emerging Controversy
The recent arrest of Lê Anh Tuấn, a state official and the elder brother of the Buddhist monk Thích Minh Tuệ, has sparked significant public interest. The controversy stems not only from Tuấn’s familial link to the famous monk but also from perceived inconsistencies and suspicions in the state media’s reporting of the case.
On the evening of July 2, Vietnamese state media reported that police in Gia Lai Province had placed Tuấn under a four-month temporary detention. He was charged with “abuse of position and power in the performance of official duties” after allegedly allowing a family member to encroach on and build unauthorized structures on public land. This resulted in an estimated loss to the state budget of one billion đồng.
Shortly after the story broke, online debates flared over what many viewed as a deliberate attempt by state media to link the case to Thích Minh Tuệ, who is currently on pilgrimage in India. Some news outlets initially featured the monk’s name prominently in their headlines, only to revise the articles later to remove the reference. Thousands of social media comments argued that the incident should be viewed separately, asserting the principle that “each person is responsible for their own actions.”
Many criticized the media’s implied connection as an unfair attempt to damage the monk’s reputation. Some quickly pointed out the media’s relative silence on other, more serious violations by high-ranking, state-aligned monks. One viral comment asked: “Has Venerable Thích Chân Quang, who illegally occupied 1,418 m² of protected forest and built 35 unauthorized structures, been prosecuted or detained yet?”
Background on the Allegations
At the time of his arrest, Lê Anh Tuấn held several key roles—chairman, director, and party secretary—at the Ia Châm Coffee Company, a unit of the state-owned Vinacafe Corporation based in Ia Grai Commune, Gia Lai.
State media reports, citing preliminary investigations, claim that between March 2022 and March 2024, Tuấn engaged in multiple land management violations. These included building unauthorized structures on nearly 100 square meters of agricultural land and illegally occupying more than 400 square meters of public land.
However, the exact financial damage allegedly caused by Tuấn remains unclear, with conflicting reports from state media. Some outlets, like Người Lao Động newspaper, reported that Tuấn had unlawfully leased public land for personal gain, profiting over 200 million đồng. Others claimed he caused losses closer to one billion đồng. To date, the financial records from the Ia Châm Coffee Company have not been publicly disclosed.
This discrepancy has led some observers to question the scale of the police response. According to Houston-based lawyer Hoàng Duy Hùng, a one-billion-đồng case is not considered significant by Vietnamese economic crime standards. He questioned the unusual level of police involvement, which saw the Ministry of Public Security coordinating with local authorities in the arrest.
“Does one billion đồng really justify that level of intervention?” Hùng speculated about the true motives behind the high-profile case.
Administrative Penalties Before Criminal Charges
It is worth noting that Tuấn’s alleged violations were not newly discovered; they had already been handled administratively months earlier. In December 2024, the Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee fined him 22.5 million đồng, and by May 2025, the local Party Committee had dismissed him from all his party positions.
Despite these prior actions, the case was suddenly escalated to a criminal matter. On June 27, the Gia Lai Provincial Procuracy approved a warrant for his arrest, and he was taken into custody at his home just two days later, on June 29. Observers noted the rapid pace of these proceedings. They questioned why less severe measures like travel restrictions were not applied, especially when suspects in far larger economic crime cases have often been treated more leniently.
Collateral Damage to Monk Thích Minh Tuệ
The media coverage of Lê Anh Tuấn’s arrest has had apparent collateral effects on the public perception of his brother, monk Thích Minh Tuệ. Numerous social media users have posted negative remarks about the monk, with some blaming him for bringing trouble to his family or questioning his spiritual integrity for failing to “enlighten” his own brother.
In response, others have come to his defense. An article in Phật Học Magazine by Quỳnh Chi pushed back against this narrative, stating, “A monk does not carry karma for their relatives.” She emphasized that Thích Minh Tuệ’s ascetic journey is deeply personal and spiritual, concluding, “No one can carry the burden for another—not even blood relatives.”
A History of Scrutiny and Suppression
The recent arrest of his brother is just the latest chapter in a long history of state scrutiny directed at Thích Minh Tuệ. After his ascetic practice and solitary pilgrimage gained viral attention across Vietnamese social media in April 2024, authorities quickly began to restrict his movements and accuse him of various offenses.
In June 2024, police in Huế dispersed his walking group, and Thích Minh Tuệ himself was taken to apply for a citizen ID card. Around that time, a letter supposedly from his brother, Lê Anh Tuấn, appeared, stating that the monk had ceased his pilgrimage. However, a blogger, Như Quỳnh, contested the letter’s authenticity, suggesting it and an accompanying photo were fabricated by the police.
A similar situation occurred in November 2024, when state media reported that Thích Minh Tuệ had requested people stop photographing him. In a January 2025 interview with BBC Vietnamese in Thailand, he later clarified that he only wrote such letters after being directly asked by authorities, stating, “Whatever people ask for, I give it to them.”
The pressure continued into May 2025, when a document purportedly written by the influential Venerable Thích Nhật Từ to the Sri Lankan Buddhist Council accused Thích Minh Tuệ of misconduct, further complicating his spiritual journey. Following his brother’s recent arrest, Thích Minh Tuệ has not issued any public statement on the matter.