[3] Sathasivam Ramanathan is reputed to have made billions from smuggling abroad refugees from the Sri Lankan Civil War and from government corruption.
[4][5] Sathasivam Ramanathan, who has extensive business interests in Sri Lanka and the U.K., was refused entry to the U.K. in 1993 due to his involvement in providing false documents to migrants entering the U.K. and the European Union.
[9] During the election campaign, on 31 March 2010, Ramanathan and supporters were attacked by Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a government backed paramilitary group and a member of the UPFA.
[11] In August 2010 Ramanathan was appointed Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) organiser for Jaffna District by President Rajapaksa.
[22] Jaffna UPFA municipal councillor Suveeharan Nishanthan claims he was abducted and assaulted by Ramanathan and his father on 3 April 2013 in Colombo.
[36][37][38] His victory was attributed to the US$15,000 (Rs.2.7 million) he spent on Facebook advertising - the second highest of all candidates and ten times his nearest rival in Jaffna District, M. A. Sumanthiran - and the publicity provided by the private media network, consisting of the Capital FM radio station and the Capital News cable station, owned by his uncle S.
[44][45] Ramanathan's first acts in his new role was to issue an order that all development activity in the district needs his approval and to appoint his father as his representative and co-ordinating officer in the DDC.