Investigators search Moscow offices of BTA bank

MOSCOW, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Russian investigators are searching the Moscow offices of BTA bank, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

A ministry official said the searches were part of a criminal case opened earlier.

Aliya Kadar, a spokeswoman for BTA Bank in Moscow, declined to comment on the phone.

Following the nationalisation of Kazakh bank BTA BTAS.KZ in February, its Russian subsidiary said the Kazakh bank was only a minority shareholder and announced plans to change its name.

Kazakh BTA has said it would challenge the Russian bank's decisions. (Reporting by Lyudmila Danilova; additional reporting by Olzhas Auyezov in Almaty, writing by Maria Kiselyova)