Cash Loans Offer In Exchange Of The Immortal Soul
In the midst of a recession, one financial firm in Latvia is offering cash loans in exchange of the borrower's "immortal soul" which will be returned only after the last cent is paid back.
RussiaToday.com reported that all the adult citizens in Latvia are eligible to borrow money in cash from 50 to 500 Latvian lats, which is about $100 to $1,000, and the only agreement they need to sign states that their soul belongs to the company until the last penny is paid.
The offer is being made by a financial company named "Kontora" in the Latvian capital Riga.
The document says the loan is given using, as security, "the client's immaterial being, namely the immortal soul." The terms state the soul stays the property of "Kontora" until the last cent of the credit is paid. No provisions are made for force majeure, which frees both parties from liability or obligation.
The "soul-sellers" or the borrowers can lend money for 90 days maximum with the 1 percent credit each day. However, the agreement also states that, later, the precious asset known as the soul may be bought back from Kontora on its own terms, most probably implying an extra sum of money to be negotiated in each case individually.
In case the borrower fails to return the money, the creditor gets full possession of his soul.
In an interview with the Latvian daily "Vesti Segodnya", an unnamed representative of "Kontora" said he sees nothing wrong with buying a soul: "Business is business. We give people palpable cash. If a man values his soul, he'll definitely pay back the credit. I guess, it's all fair. Everyone can decide for himself, what's more important."
The priest of the Holy Trinity Orthodox church in Riga says, "This is a very dangerous undertaking. How can you sell you soul? It's immortal! If a man disowns his soul, he renounces God, and will not see life eternal!"
Witnesses say people are queuing up in front of the loan company.