Thailand's National Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating an allegation that Australian gold mine operator Kingsgate Consolidated bribed Thai state officials to obtain a mining concession.
Wicha Mahakhun, chairman of a commission subcommittee set up to investigate the allegation, has told journalists initial evidence has been sent to Thai authorities from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). 
Kingsgate, whose Chatree mine 280 kilometres north of Bangkok has come under scrutiny over environmental concerns, denies the allegation.
Asked whether Kingsgate was aware ASIC had sent initial evidence to Thai authorities, the company's chief executive officer, Greg Foulis, said: "As this question relates to the activities of ASIC, it is best directed at them."
ASIC head of corporate affairs Matthew Abbott said he could not comment on Kingsgate or whether ASIC had sent information to its Thai counterpart, the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He referred media inquiries to the Australian Federal Police, but the AFP declined to comment.
Mr Foulis said Kingsgate had always acted in accordance with Thai mining laws and said the company had never made an improper payment in return for a mining lease in Thailand. He said the Sydney-based company would fully co-operate with Thai authorities.
Thai authorities suspended the Chatree mine in   January this year over alleged concerns for the health of thousands of villagers living nearby. The mine is operated by Akara Resources Public Company, a subsidiary of Kingsgate.
The 44-day suspension was the main contributor to Kingsgate's after-tax loss blowout to $147 million for the 2015 full year, up from the previous year's $97.6 million in fiscal year 2014.
Kingsgate denied in   January that the mine had caused arsenic and manganese levels to rise in villagers, saying it was stunned by the suspension. The company's website says it has an "outstanding occupational and health record coupled with stringent environmental controls that help underpin the existing operations".
Almost 100 members of a group living near the mine told Thai authorities this week their quality of life had improved because of the mine's employment and development funds, and they suffered no adverse health effects from living near the mine.
Kingsgate's chairman Ross Smyth-Kirk in   August announced plans for the company to expand its gold mining operations in south-east Asia.
with Sarah Danckert