The competent authorities of the French Republic have sent a request to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine for the extradition of 45-year-old Georgian citizen Johnny Balogh/Mardasa, nicknamed Dzhonik, for the execution of the sentence of the 1st chamber of the JIRS of the Bordeaux Correctional Court, which sentenced Johnny Balogh to 10 years' imprisonment.
Johnny Balog/Mardasu
Information about this is contained in the materials of the domestic court registry, writes Detective-Info.
It follows from these that since March 2025, Ukraine has been conducting an investigation into the request for the extradition of Genatsvale, which is raising the issue of applying extradition arrest to "Jonik," who is facing the Lviv Themis.
The sentence handed down by fellow Ukrainian judges in the pearl of Aquitaine against Balogh concerns the Tbilisi native's involvement in the victory of a transnational criminal organization. The latter (at least de jure) operated from October 2020 to early April 2021, specializing in smuggling, primarily tobacco products, and laundering the proceeds from this activity. The headquarters of this modern-day filibusters was located in Nantes, and the tentacles of the "tobacco organized crime group" extended beyond the Atlantic coast of France to Slovenia and Poland.
The ten-year prison sentence imposed on "Dzhonik" by the Bordeaux court had already been served "from start to finish," but in Ukraine. In August 2008, Balogh/Mardasu was sentenced to the same term for armed robbery (Part 1, Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) committed in Lviv Oblast (Part 4, Article 187 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
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Here, as part of the investigation into this case, Georgian honorable man Johnny Balogh was held in custody since August 2006. After the verdict came into force, he was transferred to serve his sentence within the walls of Zhdanovsky Correctional Colony No. 3. By the time of his release in 2016, the corresponding territory of Donbas was already occupied: the freedom-loving son of the Caucasus decided not to seek his destiny in the "quasi-formed states" and returned to the city of Leo.
How is Johnny Balogh doing now?
2022 marks the start of Balogh's legal business activity. In anticipation of a large-scale military invasion, Batono Johnny registers a sole proprietorship with KVED (Classified Economic Activity Code) for meat trading and real estate transactions. A couple of months later, he joins the list of co-founders of a public organization. «Development of a democratic society» (which, since its formation, has repeatedly received gratitude from the SBU Directorate in the Lviv region) and Khoroshe Toplivo LLC.
At the same time, Johnny Balogh himself claimed that his business activities were also focused "on the automotive sector, including leasing, and retail sales of vehicle parts and accessories." This statement was made within the walls of the Drohobych Court, a court familiar to the Georgian horseman, where he applied in the spring of 2023 with "certificate of release No. 51630" from the Zhdanovsky prison administration to resolve the issue. removal of a conviction for robbery.
Apparently, at that time, Balogh/Mardas's stock price was rapidly rising: the worthy man had purchased a house in Sokilniki and, having a permanent residence permit in our country, began working on obtaining Ukrainian citizenship. Court documents contain a reference: in September 2023, he filed a corresponding application with the migration service in Lviv Oblast, although the "Balog case" subsequently moved to Odesa Oblast.
Here, a Tbilisi native tried to convince Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi officials of his deceased grandmother's "Ukrainian roots." As proof of the birth of "Dzhonik's" relative in Yavorivshchyna, Lviv Oblast, the court provided page 156 of the parish register of the village of Gusakiv, belonging to the Religious Community of the Parish of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Drohobych-Sambir Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church of Ukraine).
This circumstance, which paved the way for Balogh/Mardas to obtain a Ukrainian passport, was legally recognized on February 16, 2024—exactly one month after the smuggler's conviction by a French court on January 12, 2024. Amid the likely raising of the question of the subsequent extradition of the freedom-loving son of the Caucasus to the descendants of Montesquieu's work, Johnny Balogh applied for Ukrainian citizenship in March 2024, but his dreams were not destined to come true.
Last summer, the sky began to darken over the honorable man: on June 21, "due to identified discrepancies," Odesa region migration officials decided to discontinue proceedings on his application. This followed the soon-to-be owner of the trident-emblazoned passport making headlines in the crime news.
On June 12, the BMW X6 driven by Balog was shot at. The attacker was lying in wait in a Dzhonik near his home in Sokolniki and saw his victim around 11:00 a.m. The killer walked onto the road and fired 25 shots from an automatic rifle at close range. Balog was hospitalized in critical condition with a blind wound to the chest and abdomen, along with damage to the pleura, small and large intestines, and gallbladder, fractures, internal bleeding, and other injuries. However, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and, thanks to the efforts of doctors, was resurrected.
Description of the assassination attempt on Johnny Balogh
Law enforcement officials managed to solve the brazen crime. In mid-summer 2024, a hitman was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of "Dzhonik" (Clause 12, Part 2, Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The suspect is believed to be Bohdan Gvozd, a current employee of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense and a resident of the Lviv region.
The state prosecution demanded that Bohdan Mykhailovych be placed in pretrial detention without alternatives. However, during the selection of a "safety deposit" on July 17, the investigator granted him the option of bail in the amount of 2 million hryvnias. The corresponding funds were posted that same day, but the GUR officer was only able to breathe free air nearly five days later. This was preceded by scandalous events that allowed us to define the contours of the confrontation between several security agencies in the story related to "Dzhonik."
As noted in court materialsOn the morning of July 18, 2025, Gvozda's lawyer arrived at Lviv Penitentiary Institution No. 19 to hand over payment documents confirming bail and meet his client. Initially, the defense attorney was told there was a power outage at the facility, and after five hours of additional waiting, he was denied access to the GUR officer and verbally informed of his absence within the "central" prison. Pretrial detention facility staff indicated that the suspect in the attempted murder of a reputed smuggler had been taken away for investigative action.
Subsequently, a search operation to establish the location and "liberation" of Gvozd revealed that, citing intelligence about an alleged assassination attempt being prepared against a GUR officer as revenge for the shooting of "Dzhonik," security measures had been taken against Bogdan Mikhailovich and he had been "moved" to the police ITT the day before.
It wasn't until July 22 that the "cops" finally released the soldier. The probable killer's defense subsequently accused the claimants of establishing a dedicated "burn" against Johnny Balogh and working on his behalf.
"The question of objectivity in the investigation of this criminal case also arises for the Main Directorate of the National Police in Lviv Oblast as a pre-trial investigation agency capable of effectively conducting pre-trial investigations and adhering to the principle of impartiality. After all, it was this territorial division of the law enforcement agency that was involved in issuing documents and assisting the victim... in obtaining Ukrainian citizenship." court materials Claims from Gurovets' lawyers. Another complaint filed by the "killer"'s defense concerned the response to a motion to halt the investigation against Gvozd, whose military unit "provides protection in the sphere of national security in the most critical areas of the front."
It's known that the police denied the relevant claims, while simultaneously issuing a search warrant for another serviceman. This is Oleg Stadnik, who is being charged with being the "hitman's driver" in the case of the attempted assassination of "Dzhonik."
Court records indicate that the search for Stadnyk ended on New Year's Eve 2025. On the last day of December, the Halytskyi District Court ordered Oleh Petrovich to be remanded in custody with bail of 2 million hryvnias, after which the soldier was released. The charges against Stadnyk and Gvozd are currently being heard within the walls of the Pustomyty Palace of Themis in Lviv Oblast.
As for the victim of the killers' victory, at the stage of the event preparatory proceedings On August 7, 2025, Johnny Balogh failed to appear in court. According to the materials of his "extradition case," law enforcement officers were unable to immediately determine "Jonik's" actual whereabouts this summer. Investigative Service agents, citing neighbors, noted that he had not been to his home in Sokolniki since the assassination attempt, and had not legally crossed the border.
It was also established that at the time of the initial processing of the extradition request from the competent authorities of the French Republic, Balog, a native of Tbilisi, was undergoing treatment in moderate condition at the Modrich Medical Rehabilitation Center. From this facility, "Jonika" was discharged to Lviv City Polyclinic No. 5 in late May.
According to a letter dated August 26, 2025, signed by the deputy head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Lviv Oblast, the Criminal Investigation Department established that Johnny Balogh/Mardasu “is located at his residential address,” “is undergoing outpatient treatment at a municipal non-profit enterprise,” and “is currently neglecting supervision of persons and communication with others.”
The prosecutor's office is appealing the decision of the court of first instance on October 15, 2025, to refuse extradition arrest in the form of detention within the walls of the Lviv Central Prison for "Dzhonik".
Skelet.Org
On topic: The court rejected Zhevago's trial in absentia because Ukraine had re-initiated his extradition.
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