WASHINGTON - Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that it would take steps to keep a closer eye on kingdom money - even as it complained of being unfairly linked to terrorists.

"We believe that our country has been unfairly maligned," said Saudi adviser Adel Al Jubeir. "We believe that we have been subjected to criticism that we do not deserve."

Moving to repair the Saudis´ tattered image amid an FBI probe into a royal money trail leading to the Sept. 11 hijackers, Al Jubeir said the government has "pursued terrorists relentlessly and punished them harshly."

The government has found "no direct link between charity groups and terrorism," said Al Jubeir, a top aide to Crown Prince Abdullah.

Still, he said, 33 Saudi bank accounts with more than $5.5 million in assets have been frozen. He said three Al Qaeda cells have been broken up and more than 2,000 terror suspects questioned, with 100 detained.

The Bush administration immediately praised the moves.

"There is a lot of cooperation that you will never see. They´re not going to herald it, and we´re not going to herald it because it would make them less effective. But it´s not like they´ve been passive," a senior official said.

But the official conceded the Saudis are "not good enough, not doing enough" to cap the terrorists´ cash flow.

The Saudis have been on the defensive since it was revealed two weeks ago that the feds are investigating how $2,000 from a Saudi princess to a sick woman ended up in the pockets of two of the hijackers.

The royal family has vehemently denied it funded terrorists, and Al Jubeir griped that the criticism has made Saudi attacks a Washington ritual.

"What we have in Washington right now, the atmosphere in the United States, unfortunately, it´s a feeding frenzy. It´s ´Let´s bash the Saudis´ time,´" he said.

Al Jubeir accused Americans of falling into a trap set by Osama Bin Laden, who he said intentionally recruited 15 Saudis among the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers.

"Why did he do it? In order to give this operation a Saudi face ... and drive a wedge between our two countries," he said. With Thomas M. DeFrank (© 2002 Daily News, L.P. 12/04/02)