Vilnius - There was nowhere to hide for anyone owing money in Lithuania Monday after one of the Baltic country's main debt collection agencies said it was using a renowned clairvoyant to track down debtors and identify secret business crooks.

Vilija Lobaciuviene is well known in Lithuania for her supernatural powers. The self-styled witch employs techniques including spells, herbal medicine and the reading of auras in her work, which has helped make her a television favourite.

Now the otherworldly psychic has signed a down-to-earth cooperation agreement with debt collection agency Skolu Isieskojimo Biuras (SIB), whose corporate website says: "There are are cases when unconventional means and methods must be applied."

SIB director Almantas Celkonas told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa Lobaciuviene should not be thought of as a witch.

"For us Vilija is not a witch. We wouldn't like to comment on our cooperation with Vilija in detail, but we have no doubt that she will help us.

"She is a parapsychologist and sophisticated person who knows people, how to communicate with them, how to help them with their problems and to stop their failures," he said.

Lobaciuviene's main role would be to use her perceptive powers to help the agency identify companies and businesspeople that have financial problems as a result of the credit crunch but perhaps haven't disclosed the full extent of their troubles, Celkonas said.

She could also be useful in identifying business cheats who have yet to be unmasked.

The use of clairvoyants and other psychic practitioners is common throughout the legal system, according to Celkonas.

"It is not a secret that help from these kinds of people is used widely, even by justice institutions while investigating important cases. It is normal cooperation - there is no need to make a big deal of it," he said. (dpa)