Money laundering cannot be fought with a clear legal basis. To begin with, a clear legal basis in the criminal code must be adopted so that not only money laundering but law enforcement and regulators have something to hold on to. When drafting a law on money laundering, the predicated offenses must be made as broad as possible. When setting up a Federal Intelligence Unit (FIU), it must be given resources so that it can fulfill its tasks. Lastly, officials should plug into the international network of money laundering organizations wherever possible. Because today’s money laundering operations are international, it is important to cooperate internationally in order to be efficient. This paper discusses the Council of Europe’s adoption in 1981 of Recommendation No. R (81) on economic crime, containing a list of economic offenses and the institutional set up of the European Union through European law, specifically the offense money laundering with a number of initiatives undertaken in the form of binding legislation by the European Union.