Has anyone been charged with defacing money? In many countries it is illegal to deface or destroy money, but has this law ever been enforced? (note: I'm not asking about counterfeiting) Have there been any notable cases of people being charged or jailed in the past 50 years? One thing that comes to mind was the KLF's Burn a Million Quid: > K Foundation Burn a Million Quid was an action that took place on 23 August 1994, in which the K Foundation (an art duo consisting of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty) burned cash in the amount of one million pounds sterling on the Scottish island of Jura.

Yes. In Australia in 2005.

This was reported in the Sunshine Coast Daily

> **Defacing bank notes costs $500**
>
> 23rd March 2005
>
> Damien John Lebret pleaded guilty to twice defacing 10 paper money notes with a black felt tip pen before depositing his rent money into an account at ANZ Bank at Kawana Waters last month.
>
> [...]
>
> The Crimes (Currency) Act 1981 provides for a maximum $5000 penalty or two years in jail for wilfully defacing coins or paper money.
>
> Magistrate Ken Taylor said he needed to issue a penalty reflecting the seriousness of Mr Lebrets conduct and fined him $500.
>
> Mr Lebret opted to convert the fine to 34 hours community service.