Famed lawyer Jadranka Slokovic to defend Australian couple Adriana and Luka Matak in Croatia

A lawyer to the stars, who once represented a corrupt prime minister and millionaire footballer, has been hired to defend the Australian couple accused of swindling investors.

Travel blogger Adriana Matak, 36, and her investment advisor husband Luka Matak, 31, are being held in Remetinec prison in the Croatian capital, Zagreb.

A high-profile lawyer famed for representing a millionaire footballer and corrupt prime minister has been drafted in to defend an Australian couple accused of swindling investors in Croatia.

Criminal lawyer Jadranka Slokovic has been hired by Adriana and Luka Matak, who have been languishing in a prison in the capital Zagreb for nearly two months since their luxe lifestyle came crashing down.

The pair haven’t been charged since their September arrest, deny any wrongdoing and are being held while an investigation is carried out.

Adriana Matak in London.

The couple have now hired a famed lawyer.

News Corp reported on Saturday 10 fraud charges totalling $A1.6m had been lodged with the Municipal Criminal State Attorneys’ Office for consideration.

Ms Slokovic represented Zdravko Mamic, the former chief executive of Croatian football club GNK Dinamo Zagreb, who in 2018 was jailed for tax evasion and siphoning off profits from player transfers.

She also represented ex-Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader who in 2012 was found guilty of taking millions of dollars in bribes from a Hungarian energy company and an Austrian bank. His conviction was later overturned on procedural grounds but he was thrown back into prison in 2020, after a retrial.

“Yes I am representing Luka and Adriana Matak,” she confirmed to News Corp Australia.

“My fees are irrelevant, they will get an invoice at the end of it.”

Slokovic represented ex-Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader who in 2012 was found guilty of taking millions of dollars in bribes from a Hungarian energy company and an Austrian bank.

The Mataks are understood to have hired up to five separate lawyers before settling on Ms Slokovic.

Lawyer Ivan Župan, who acted for the couple at the start of their case, confirmed he had been instructed by the pair to help ”wrap up the investigation”.

Croatia's former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader (C) accompanied with his lawyers leaving a prison in Zagreb.

“I didn’t work for them for long, it was at the start of the case to help wrap up the investigation,” he said.

London mediator and commercial lawyer Sheikh Najam was also engaged by the couple to mediate with an investor who allegedly lost 150,000 pounds ($A280,000).

“Mr Matak didn’t want to pay back the investor but asked me to mediate but the investor flatly refused – he wanted all his money back,” said Mr Najam, of London law firm MettLaw.

“I charged Mr Matak several hundred pounds for sending the letter and never heard from him again.”

Croatian law firm BDV partner Marko Bohacek filed the fraud charges on behalf of 10 separate investors, claiming they had lost a combined $1.6 million.

Originally published as Famed lawyer Jadranka Slokovic to defend Australian couple Adriana and Luka Matak in Croatia