European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde seized the cell phones of her fellow politicians at a meeting this week and rebuked them for leaking important information before making a policy decision, Reuters reported, citing two sources.

The media outlet notes that this is the most unprecedentedly bold step Lagarde has taken to stop leaks from the Governing Council, a problem that plagued her presidency as well as that of her predecessor, Mario Draghi.

The 26 members of the Governing Council were ordered to hand in their cell phones on Wednesday, the first day of the meeting, as politicians were about to appoint Claudia Buch as the ECB's chief banking supervisor, sources familiar with the matter said.

The phones were returned after the announcement of Ms. Buch's appointment as chairwoman of the Single Supervisory Board, which oversees more than a hundred of the euro zone's biggest lenders.