WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A federal judge presiding over a lawsuit by a BAE Systems PLC shareholder has set a Thursday hearing after temporarily barring Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan from removing real estate sales proceeds from the United States.

The lawsuit, filed by a pension fund with shares in the British defense company, charges that past and present BAE officials breached their fiduciary duties by acts including kickbacks and other payments to Prince Bandar and others.

U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer scheduled the Feb. 14 hearing on whether to issue a preliminary injunction after granting a temporary restraining order last week that bars Bandar from transferring out of the country the proceeds from any U.S property sales.

The lawsuit was filed in September by the Harper Woods, Michigan city employee pension fund. The lawsuit names certain current and former officers and directors of BAE along with Bandar, the former Saudi ambassador to the United States who is now the head of Saudi Arabia's National Security Council.

"It is alleged that this behavior included making, or permitting to be made, improper and illegal bribes, kickbacks and other payments to Prince Bandar and others, totaling more than $2 billion in order to win lucrative contracts," according to the law firm that brought the lawsuit.

BAE also faces a U.S. Justice Department investigation launched in June that focuses on the company's compliance with anti-bribery laws, including past dealings with Saudi Arabia.

Britain's Serious Fraud Office abruptly halted a similar probe in December of 2006 after then Prime Minister Tony Blair said pursuing it could harm Saudi-UK relations.

Other defendants named in the lawsuit include three former Riggs Bank executives and controlling shareholders, and PNC Financial Services Group, the company which took over Riggs.

BAE and Bandar have strongly denied that illegal payments were made to Bandar.

Greg Caires, a spokesman for the U.S. unit of BAE declined comment on the move to freeze Bandar's assets or the state of the Justice Department investigation.

The judge said the lawsuit at a minimum "raises serious questions of law concerning whether the BAE defendants breached their fiduciary duties, wasted BAE's assets" and committed acts beyond their powers "by allegedly paying $2 billion in illegal bribe payments to Prince Bander in violation of the laws of the United States and United Kingdom."

Collyer wrote in the four-page order that the lawsuit also raises serious question of law on whether Bandar may be required to return bribe payments and the profits on those payments to BAE.

Her order directs that any real estate sales proceeds "be deposited and/or invested pursuant to a prudent man standard" in U.S. accounts, but it "does not prevent him from selling real property" and "only interferes with his ability to invest and/or deposit any sales proceeds in a minimal way."

The plaintiffs had moved for the order in light of published reports that Bandar has recently sold three of six real estate holdings that he owns in the United States. (Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa) (Reporting by James Vicini, Editing by Tim Dobbyn)