* Moscow sets up list of US officials banned from Russia

* Foreign Ministry says list may be expanded

MOSCOW - Russia has banned some US officials from visiting the country in response to US visa restrictions imposed on Russian officials over the death in prison death of hedge fund lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

"On the basis of reciprocity, the list of US citizens whose stay in the Russian Federation was considered undesirable was approved," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on the ministry's website.

The ministry declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.  

Lukashevich said the list included "high-ranking officials accessorial to ... crimes", such as "de facto legalised tortures in American special jails, kidnapping ... continuous imprisonment of detainees in Guantanamo, uninvestigated killings of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The US State Department said in July it had placed visa restrictions on Russian officials accused of involvement Magnitsky's death in a Russian prison as he awaited trial on tax evasion and fraud charges in 2009.  

Russia's Foreign Ministry said the US visa restrictions were unjustified and it would respond with "adequate measures".

Lukashevich said that the list of US citizens barred from entering Russia could be expanded, without giving further details. "If the US party follows the path of visa confrontation, we will be prompted to expand the list."

The statement, which confirms reports by Russian media, is another sign that the "reset" aimed at improving US-Russian relations under US President Barack Obama and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev is under threat.