Dhaka: Bangladesh Bank on Monday directed the institutions concerned to close transactions through mobile financial services with immediate effect.

The decision will remain in force till 5:00pm Tuesday, according to a Bangladesh Bank statement.

The statement says, the decision has been taken following the request of the Election Commission.

The decision apparently came to avert the bad practice of vote buying, which has reportedly already started in some cases.

The elections to the three city corporations will be held on Tuesday in Dhaka and Chittagong.