The European Commission is set to introduce a common definition of money laundering and a harmonised punishment for money laundering offences. The move, which is at a very early stage, is separate from the Commission’s proposals to revamp the Third Money Laundering Directive (3MLD).  A spokeswoman in Brussels confirmed that the Commission was working on proposals for a directive that would harmonise across Europe the criminal penalties that can be imposed for money laundering offences. This would see the establishment of common minimum rules for how severely the offence could be punished.  The proposals are being worked on by the DG Home Affairs side of the Commission, which is separate from DG Internal Markets which is in turn looking at the proposals for a Fourth Money Laundering Directive. The markets side is unable to propose criminal sanctions as this falls outside its remit. The spokeswoman said that the proposals would complement changes to the 3MLD

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