Krishnan Suthanthiran (born 1947) is an Indian-Canadian multi-millionaire and businessman.
/ref> Born in India and educated in Canada, Suthanthiran is known for his ownership of the

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

Kitsault, British Columbia and companies involved in the manufacturing of medical devices.

Personal life and career history

Suthanthiran was born in southern India in 1947 to a family of grocery-store owners. In 1969, he immigrated to Canada to study mechanical engineering at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

in Ottawa, Ontario, completing his master's degree in 1971. He developed an interest in cancer research after the death of his father, which has concerned much of his work since. He took pre-medical courses before moving to the United States to work in oncology. In 1977, he founded health care supplies manufacturer Best Medical International in Springfield, Virginia. In 2005, he purchased the former company town of Kitsault, British Columbia, Canada, for US $5.7 million. The town had housed miners' families, but was abandoned in 1982. The town is 20 years into a process of being preserved and is used to house miners working in the area. While Suthanthiran has proposed several plans for revitalizing the town, including an artists' and scientists' retreat, a

Liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...

terminal, a movie studio and a resort, Kitsault remains as it was when it was first abandoned. In 2007, he established the Best Cure Foundation in Virginia as a non-profit entity to promote healthcare and education globally. On May 1st 2009, he purchased Best Theratronics, a company located in

Kanata, Ontario Kanata (, ) is a satellite city, satellite community and former city within Ottawa, Ontario. It is located about west of the city's Downtown Ottawa, downtown core. As of 2021, the former City of Kanata had a population of 98,938, with the ...

that manufactures

cyclotrons A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: January ...

and medical equipment. Suthanthiran's political involvements include three parties he founded: the Proud Indian Party in 2013, Proud American Party in 2020 and Proud Canadian Party in 2021.

Best Medical Belgium case

In 2011, Suthanthiran acquired a nuclear medical business located in Belgium which would adopt the name Best Medical Belgium. Following the deal, Best Medical Belgium transferred €9.6 million to companies owned by Suthanthiran in Canada. Six months later, Best Medical Belgium declared insolvency. Belgian authorities allege that these actions constitute Best Canada liquidating the Belgian firm's assets in an effort to render it fraudulently insolvent. They are investigating the firm for potential money laundering. Suthanthiran denies the allegations. Belgium has sought assistance from Canada under a mutual legal assistance treaty. On behalf of Belgium, counsel for the Attorney General of Canada obtained search warrants, authorizing the search of the offices of Best Theratronics’ in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and Best Canada in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

for records relating to what Belgium regarded as “criminal transactions,” according to a summary filed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Best Theratronics’ Canadian premises were searched and records were seized, including documents describing how cyclotrons are constructed. Suthanthiran has argued that his firms' competitors in Belgium have motivated the seizure, conspiring with Belgian authorities to steal trade secrets. Ontario judges were unconvinced by this argument and initial motions to prevent the seized documents from being transferred to Belgium were denied. However, the

Supreme Court of British Columbia The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Court hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. There are 90 judici ...

found there was some evidence suggesting the transactions from Best Medical Belgium to firms owned by Suthanthiran in Canada were legitimate, which could challenge the validity of the search warrant issued for the offices of Best Theratronics. Subsequent proceedings in Ontario in light of the conclusion drawn by the Supreme Court of BC found that the warrant issued for the offices of Best Canada did not share the same issues, and as such remained valid. Suthanthiran has stated he will continue to challenge the decision

References

{{reflist

External links

Best Medical group of companies

Proud American Party

Best Cure Foundation
Indian emigrants to the United States American people of Indian descent American businesspeople