The UAE announced plans on Sunday to establish judicial bodies to prosecute money laundering and financial crime following increased monitoring by a global watchdog dedicated to battling illicit cash flows.

The official WAM news agency reported that the United Arab Emirates has approved a "proposal to establish federal prosecution entities specialized in economic crimes and money laundering".

It said the move "represents a first step towards investigating and cracking down on" shady financial transactions.

The proposal calls for the "creation of prosecution offices specialized in" illicit finance.