Top UK barrister fights extradition to Croatia where he faces three years in jail after his divorcing wife accused him of strangling her during 'years of domestic abuse'

By OLIVIA DAY, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 14:39, 29 June 2026 | Updated: 14:46, 29 June 2026 A high-flying English barrister is facing three years in a Croatian jail after his wife accused him of strangling her. Tamara Katavic has claimed during their divorce battle that her husband subjected her to 'years of domestic abuse.' But Chancery law specialist Marc Brittain, 65, who is now fighting extradition on criminal charges, branded his wife a 'psychopath' and a 'liar.' The former couple, who were married for 15 years and share a son, split in 2021 following a heated row over money, sparking a series of legal disputes in both the English courts and in Ms Katavic's native Croatia. Ms Katavic alleges her ex-husband tried to strangle her and threatened to light their house on fire - claims Mr Brittain vehemently denies. The legal saga also involves the ownership of several properties and the alleged 'dishonest appropriation' by Ms Katavic of £85,000 from Mr Brittain's bank account. Ms Katavic also claims she is owed £60,000 in maintenance payments. Mr Brittain is facing potential extradition to Croatia for a criminal trial and possibly three years' jail after being charged with multiple counts of alleged domestic abuse.  During a civil court hearing last week Mr Brittain told the judge: 'They want to bang me up... I'm not looking forward to three years in a Croatian prison.' He told Mr Justice Morris the pair had a tempestuous relationship, with at least two separations and police called on numerous occasions after arguments. Chancery law specialist Marc Brittain, 65, branded his ex-wife Tamara Katavic a 'psychopath' and a 'liar' as an international divorce battle unfolds The pair split in December 2021, he said, when he returned home from a run at their then home in Croatia to find that she had 'cleared' his bank account.  Mr Brittain told the judge £85,000 - consisting of a Covid-19 Bounce Back loan and rental income from a Camden property of his - had disappeared.  While he admitted to threatening to cut up clothes, the barrister insisted he 'didn't put a hand on her' and denied claims he put his hands around her throat. 'I was taken completely by surprise when, on December 3, 2021, she had me arrested in the evening, having left the house, on a charge that I tried to strangle her,' he said. 'On that very same day, I discovered that she had cleared my bank account. Having cleared my account and I having confronted her, she knew she had to get rid of me. 'She was seen by a doctor in the hospital with the police. I have seen a copy of the report. The doctor found no sign of any injury on Tamara.' Mr Brittain said he was arrested and held in custody for 'a number of days,' before being released, but with his passport confiscated for seven months. He claims he later learned his wife was living a 'double life,' seeing other men and running a concierge business he didn't even know about. Ms Katavic (pictured) alleges her ex-husband tried to strangle her and threatened to light their house on fire, claims Mr Brittain vehemently denies The split, which resulted in divorce in 2024, led to the barrister being charged in Croatia with several counts of domestic abuse, including the strangulation claim.  But it also led to a claim by him in the High Court for return of the £85,000 he claims she took, as well as a First-tier Tribunal claim to a share of a London flat she owns. He told Mr Justice Morris he was bringing 'serious allegations of fraud,' and that they had each been assessed by a psychologist in Croatia.  He said the report found Ms Katavic was 'incapable of telling the difference between truth and a lie' and the expert 'opining that she is a mild psychopath.' 'I have not committed one act of domestic violence against Tamara,' he said, adding, 'she isn't able to call one single witness to say I have even raised my voice towards her.' The case was in court for an application by Mr Brittain for disclosure of Ms Katavic's complete bank statements, which he said would show her to have lied when she said she had used most of the £85,000 on family expenses. 'It will show her to be what the Croatian psychologist says her to be - a psychopath,' he said, urging the judge to order disclosure of the statements so he could use them in his money claim against her and in his fight against extradition. A finding of fraud would be 'very important to my defence in the extradition proceedings and in the criminal proceedings in Croatia,' he said.  'If I get sent back, they want to put me in prison for three years for something I haven't done,' he told the court. 'This woman is thoroughly dishonest. She seeks to manipulate, and she has succeeded in manipulating the Croatian authorities. 'She will stop at nothing even when faced with incontrovertible truths.' The divorce battle is playing out in London's High Court and Ms Katavic's native Croatia Representing herself via video link from her home near Rovinj, Croatia, Ms Katavic maintained her claims of domestic abuse and denied 'stealing' any money.  'I deny the allegations he is saying about me living a double life or taking the money or inventing that he attacked me,' she told the judge. 'He tried to strangle me. He was violent to me, throwing the clothes everywhere, telling me he would put the house on fire.' She said Mr Brittain had been in full control of their finances, and that the money that went into her own account was on his request, was for family spending or was repaid. 'There's no evidence that Mr Brittain didn't know about these arrangements,' she said. 'My position is I don't owe him money. It was during the marriage.  'I had no say, I was a homemaker. I couldn't work. Although I did study a lot in England, I wasn't allowed to work so I had to rely on my rental income.' Ms Katavic told the judge the pair never had a joint bank account and that their four-bedroom home in Chiswick and the family car were both in her ex-husband's name.   She told the judge she used rental income from two investment properties during her marriage as Mr Brittain was 'very frugal with family finances'.  Ms Katavic accused her ex-husband of 'coercive and controlling conduct' and said he owed her £60,000 in maintenance.  She asked Justice Morris to stay his civil court claim to the £85,000, pending the end of their divorce court case later this year. Giving judgment on that part of the dispute, the judge refused Mr Brittain's application to see her unredacted bank statements and agreed to stay his claim to the money so that the family court proceedings can end. 'Each party makes 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 somewhat heated.' Mr Brittain's fight against extradition to face trial in Croatia is ongoing, with a judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday hearing that he is suffering from a dangerous heart condition. A further hearing of his extradition case will take place at a later date. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.