Section 240: Counterfeiting currency and government bonds
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดทำปลอมขึ้นซึ่งเงินตรา ไม่ว่าจะปลอมขึ้นเพื่อให้เป็นเหรียญกระษาปณ์ ธนบัตรหรือสิ่งอื่นใด ซึ่งรัฐบาลออกใช้หรือให้อำนาจให้ออกใช้ หรือทำปลอมขึ้นซึ่งพันธบัตรรัฐบาลหรือใบสำคัญสำหรับรับดอกเบี้ยพันธบัตรนั้น ๆ ผู้นั้นกระทำความผิดฐานปลอมเงินตรา ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตลอดชีวิต หรือจำคุกตั้งแต่สิบปีถึงยี่สิบปี และปรับตั้งแต่สองแสนบาทถึงสี่แสนบาท หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever counterfeits currency, whether counterfeited as a coin, a banknote or anything else which the Government issues or authorises to be issued as currency, or counterfeits a government bond or a coupon for the interest on such a bond, commits the offence of counterfeiting currency and shall be liable to imprisonment for life, or imprisonment from ten years to twenty years, and a fine from two hundred thousand baht to four hundred thousand baht.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
This is the core offence in the Title on currency offences: making counterfeit Thai currency in any form the government issues or authorises. The penalty is among the heaviest in the code, reaching life imprisonment with a mandatory fine, reflecting the state interest in the integrity of the currency. It stands at the head of a graded scheme, with Section 241 covering the altering of genuine currency, Section 242 importing counterfeits, Section 243 possessing them for circulation, and Section 247 covering foreign currency. Counterfeiting and the later passing or possession of the same notes are treated as separate offences with distinct criminal intents.
Why this matters in practice
Exposure is severe, up to life imprisonment plus a fine of 200,000 to 400,000 baht, and courts treat currency counterfeiting as a serious offence against the state rather than an ordinary property crime. Where a defendant both makes and then passes or holds the notes, the acts are usually charged as separate counts, increasing overall exposure. Because intent to produce a thing that passes as genuine currency is central, disputes often turn on whether the item was truly capable of passing as money. Specialist defence is essential given the penalty level.
Cited in 26 Supreme Court decisions (1959 to 2023)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 4930/2557 (2014)
- Decision 10941/2555 (2012)
- Decision 7790/2552 (2009)
- Decision 6126/2540 (1997)
- Decision 553/2536 (1993)
- Decision 757/2527 (1984)
- Decision 1394/2522 (1979)
- Decision 92/2521 (1978)
This list is selected automatically, weighted towards judgments that turn on this section rather than ones that merely recite it when passing sentence. It has not yet been reviewed by the firm.
Most often cited alongside
- Section 244 19
- Section 91 15
- Section 78 13
- Section 248 12
- Section 247 10
- Section 83 10
Sections that appear in the same judgments as this one most often. The figure is the number of decisions.
Counted across the firm's corpus of 83,652 Supreme Court decisions, 1921 to 2026. The count is complete; the stated year range trims rare outliers so it describes where the citations actually sit. These figures are computed by us and are not official court statistics. How we count these, and what we measured
Frequently asked questions
What is the penalty for counterfeiting money in Thailand?
Under Section 240, life imprisonment or ten to twenty years in prison, together with a fine of 200,000 to 400,000 baht.
Is making and then spending counterfeit money one offence or two?
They are generally treated as separate offences, because counterfeiting and passing or possessing the notes involve different criminal intents and can be punished as distinct counts.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 240 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 240. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-240/ (accessed 20 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 240 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-240/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-240/"><p>Whoever counterfeits currency, whether counterfeited as a coin, a banknote or anything else which the Government issues or authorises to be issued as currency, or counterfeits a government bond or a coupon for the interest on such a bond, commits the offence of counterfeiting currency…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 240 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-240/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.