Russian bank manager shot dead

MOSCOW, Oct 11 (Reuters) - A branch manager with Russia's second largest bank was shot dead in an apparent contract killing, the Moscow prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.

Alexander Plokhin, who ran a Vneshtorgbank retail branch, was shot in the head outside his apartment. His murder comes less than a month after central bank deputy chief Andrei Kozlov was shot dead, shocking Russia's financial community.

Plokhin, 58, was found dead on the staircase of his suburban apartment building at about 11:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Moscow prosecutor's office said.

"The murder has the tell-tale signs of a contract killing," she said.

"The attacker was waiting for his victim on the staircase. When he came out of the lift, the killer shot him in the head. ... We will be looking at all possible motives for this killing."

The Prosecutor General's office said in a statement they would be examining, among other things, whether the killing was linked to Plokhin's work.

State-owned Vneshtorgbank is planning an initial public offering. The division where Plokhin worked, Vneshtorgbank 24, was set up to meet booming demand for consumer banking and credit.

"The relevant departments of the bank are cooperating with investigators and providing all help necessary in investigating the tragic circumstances of the death of our employee," Vneshtorgbank 24 said in a statement.

Central banker Kozlov was shot as he left a football stadium in Moscow and died in hospital. He was head of banking supervision and withdrew the licences of dozens of banks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to Kozlov's killing by creating a task force to tackle financial crime.

Journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a fierce critic of the president and Russia's war in Chechnya, was gunned down in her apartment block on Saturday in an apparent contract killing.