RIYADH Saudi Arabia said on Monday it would urgently draft an anti-money laundering law and invite an international watchdog body to visit the Persian Gulf Arab state, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

It said the Saudi cabinet agreed during a weekly meeting to start "very urgent" steps to implement anti-money laundering measures and asked the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), the Central Bank, to prepare a draft law in this regard.

The cabinet also agreed to invite a team from the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to evaluate how the measures were being implemented, Reuters reported.

A senior SAMA official said last week the kingdom had acted on a blacklist of groups and individuals accused of links to terrorism after the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities.

SAMA, whose functions include banking supervision and ensuring a sound financial system, has not disclosed publicly how many accounts have been frozen or the amount seized.

Western diplomats in Riyadh say the kingdom and the United States have intensified their hunt for illicit accounts and groups that channel money under the guise of Muslim charities.

A team from the U.S. state and treasury departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security council visited the kingdom last month to discuss cooperation in the financial war against terrorism.

Neighboring United Arab Emirates in October passed an anti-money laundering law as part of efforts to combat the financing of global terrorism after the attacks.