Top UK barrister faces jail in Croatia amid bitter international divorce battle

A senior British lawyer faces jail in Croatia after being accused of trying to strangle his wife amid a bitter international divorce battle.

But legal expert Marc Brittain branded former Tamara Katavic, who is fighting to avoid extradition, a “psychopath” and a “liar”.

The couple had been married for 15 years and had only one son; They spent their lives both in England, where he had a successful career in the bar, and in his native Croatia.

However, the marriage ended in 2021, sparking numerous legal disputes in both the British courts and Croatia.

The former couple fought over their property and Ms Katavic’s alleged “dishonest allowance” of £85,000 from her bank account, while Mr Katavic accused her of owing him £60,000 in maintenance payments.

But most seriously, Mr Brittain, 65, of Chiswick, west London, faces a criminal trial in Croatia and the possibility of a three-year prison sentence after accusing him of years of “domestic abuse”.

The dispute emerged at hearings in recent months, with the pair fighting at the High Court in London and Mr Brittain appearing before a judge to avoid extradition.

Representing herself at the High Court, she insisted she had done nothing wrong, branded her ex a “liar” and a “psychopath” and told the judge: “They want to blow me up… I’m not looking forward to spending three years in a Croatian prison.”

At a civil court hearing last week, Mr Brittain told Mr Justice Morris that the couple had a tumultuous relationship, with at least two break-ups and police calls numerous times following arguments.

He said their final breakup took place in December 2021, when he returned home from a run at their then-home in Croatia and discovered he had “cleaned out” his bank account.

He told the judge that £85,000 – made up of a Covid-19 Bounce Back loan and rental income from a property in Camden – was gone.

He admitted he was angry and threatened to cut off her clothes, but said he “didn’t lay a hand on her” and later denied allegations he made to police that he put his hands around her throat.

“I was completely surprised when, after leaving home on December 3, 2021, he had me arrested on charges that I tried to strangle him,” he said.

“The very same day I found out he had cleaned out my bank account. After clearing my account and confronting him, he knew he had to get rid of me.

“She was seen by a doctor at the hospital with the police. I saw a copy of the report. The doctor did not find any signs of injury on Tamara.”

Mr Brittain said he was arrested and detained for “a few days” before being released, but his passport was confiscated for seven months.

He claimed he later learned that his wife was living a “double life”, seeing other men and running a concierge business that even he didn’t know about.

The split, which ended in divorce in 2024, led to marriage proceedings in Croatia and England, and the lawyer was charged with a number of domestic violence charges in Croatia, including an alleged strangulation.

But it also led to a claim being made in the High Court for the return of the £85,000 he received, as well as a claim by the First-tier Tribunal for his share of a flat in London which he owned.

He said he had brought “serious allegations of fraud” to Mr Justice Morris and that each of these had been assessed by a psychologist in Croatia, with the resulting report saying he “couldn’t tell the difference between the truth and a lie” and that the expert “thought he was a mild psychopath”.

“I have not committed a single act of domestic violence against Tamara,” he said, adding, “She cannot call a single witness to say that I even raised my voice against her.”

The case was in court over Mr Brittain’s application for the disclosure of all of Ms Katavic’s bank statements; This, he said, would show Katavic was lying when he said he used most of the £85,000 for family expenses.

“This will show that he is a psychopath, as the Croatian psychologist said,” he said, calling for the judge to order the statements to be released so that he can use them in his fight against extradition and in his demand for money from him.

He said a finding of fraud would be “very important for my defense in extradition proceedings and criminal cases in Croatia.”

“If I’m sent back, they want to put me in prison for three years for something I didn’t do,” he told the court.

“This woman is a complete fraud. She tries to manipulate and has managed to manipulate the Croatian authorities.

“He will stop at nothing, even when faced with indisputable facts.”

But Ms Katavic, who represented herself via video link from her home in a village near Rovinj in Croatia, maintained allegations of domestic violence and denied having her money “stolen”.

“I deny his allegations that I was living a double life, taking the money or making up that he attacked me,” he told the judge.

“He tried to strangle me. He was violent with me, threw clothes everywhere, said he would set the house on fire.”

He said Mr Brittain had full control of his finances but that the money coming into his account was at his own request and went towards family expenses or was paid back.

“There is no evidence that Mr Brittain was unaware of these arrangements,” he said.

“My situation is this: I don’t owe him money. It was during the marriage. I had no say, I was a housewife. I couldn’t work. Even though I studied a lot in England, I wasn’t allowed to work, so I had to rely on my rental income.

“He was in control of finances throughout the marriage. We never had a joint bank account.

“The four-bedroom former matrimonial home in Chiswick was in her name alone. The family car was always in her name.

“I have two investment properties and as Mr Brittain was very frugal with the family finances I had to use the rental income during the marriage.”

He said she accused him of “coercive and controlling behaviour” and that he owed her £60,000 in alimony and asked the judge to delay her civil court claim for £85,000 until her divorce proceedings were finalized later this year.

Deciding on this part of the complex dispute, Mr Justice Morris rejected Mr Brittain’s application to see the unredacted bank statements and stayed his claim for money to end the family court proceedings.

“Both parties make extremely serious allegations of misconduct, lies, fraud and deception against the other,” he said.

“It’s fair to say that relations between the two are a bit heated.”

Mr Brittain continues to fight extradition to face trial in Croatia; He suffers from a dangerous heart condition, a judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court hears today.

The second hearing of the extradition case will be held at a later date.

The national domestic violence helpline offers support to women on 0808 2000 247 or visit: Asylum website. There is a special section men’s advice line on 0808 8010 327. US residents can call the domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). You can reach other international helplines at: www.befrienders.org