Luxury that lured investors to Luka Matak, Adriana Kupresak before they were arrested

The former Sydney couple, who are facing fraud charges in Croatia, flaunted a beautiful lifestyle that made potential investors want a slice of their own.

Travel blogger Adriana Matak (Kupresak), 36, and her investment advisor husband Luka Matak, 31, both formerly of Sydney, are being held in Remetinec prison in the Croatian capital Zagreb. Picture: www.adrianakupresak.com

A London woman says she entrusted £20,000 ($38,000) to alleged Australian fraudsters Luka and Adriana Matak last year because the couple appeared to be living a luxurious lifestyle by playing financial markets.

The woman, who News Corp has agreed not to identify, said the couple always wore the best brands and shared their lives with her, including Mrs Matak’s history of alcoholism and Mr Matak’s fear of becoming a father.

She said she was frustrated that no action had been taken against the couple by the time she invested money with Mr Matak.

Croatian authorities arrested Mr Matak, 31, and Mrs Matak, 36, who is also known by her maiden name Adriana Kupresak, last month over allegations they defrauded five people there of about 350,000 euros ($587,000). The couple are currently being held at a prison on the outskirts of Zagreb. They have not been charged with any offence and deny the allegations.

Australian man Luka Matak, who has been arrested in Croatia over fraud allegations. Picture: supplied.

Mr Matak has described himself as a hedge fund director while Mrs Matak is a travel blogger who also allegedly worked as a hostess in a high-end London gentlemen’s club.

Sources who trusted Mr Matak with their money have previously told News Corp he was given at least 2.5m pounds ($4.9m) from investors in Croatia, Britain and Australia who were promised returns of up to 20 per cent a year.

Mr Matak has also been accused of failing to pay for a $45,000 diamond ring he bought for his wife.

Picture perfect … the couple showed off their lifestyle on Adriana Matak’s travel blog. Picture: www.adrianakupresak.com

The woman who invested £20,000 with Mr Matak last year said she was given a contract that was checked over by lawyers and promised her losses would be limited to 20 per cent.

She said Mrs Matak always wore designer dresses and had a Hermes bag while Mr Matak wore a Rolex watch.

“I’ve seen what a beautiful lifestyle they have,” she said.

“And I thought if he made all this lifestyle from his job, why do I have to work hard if I can just invest and have profit from the money?”

“I’ve seen how they travel and I asked him, ‘do you make money only from this?’

“He was like ‘Oh, yes, of course’.

Fun in the sun … Adriana Matak. Picture: www.adrianakupresak.com

“I’m like, wow, I’m doing something wrong in this life. I work 24 hours a day, I run my own business, and I cannot afford all this luxury stuff and I don’t even have time for that because I need to work.”

When the couple arrived in the UK, before the pandemic, “I believe they straight away went to the best places in London, like members-only clubs,” she said.

“They’ve been recommended to me by wealthy people.”

She said the couple stayed in touch when they escaped lockdown London for Dubai, staying “in the best hotels”.

The couple posted about their nights out together.

They were like, ‘Oh my God we are going to Hermes, we are choosing a bag, you have to wait for a year but for us they are doing a limited edition’,” the woman said.

“They sent me a message: ‘Oh my God we got the bag, we are so happy’.”

She said the couple returned to London after lockdown, and for the first time complained that it was an expensive place to live.

She said Mrs Matak shared “super personal stuff” about her struggle with alcoholism.

“They shared with me super sensitive topics about their childhood, about their life,” she said.

“When they wanted to have a baby he came to me and said, ‘Oh, I’m so scared to become a dad, I’m not sure if I want that’.”

She said it was difficult to understand why Mr Matak was able to keep taking money from people for the purposes of investing after a previous investor allegedly lost almost £150,000 ($285,000) in 2021.

“I’m super frustrated about how it’s possible that in 2021 people [allegedly] haven’t received their money and I invest money in 2022 and they live an amazing life for those years,” she said.

“For me it’s confusing why they could still be free to lie to people.”