Does the verb 'apply' necessarily imply that you ask that something be given to you? Can it be used if there's no direct personal gain?

Question

For example, if a person or some nonprofit sends implicating information to a law enforcement agency and requests that company A should be investigated and, if found guilty, punished because they violated this and that, is the verb 'apply' applicable? If not, what verbs could be used instead? 'Petition', I suppose? Like, "An NGO applied to /petitioned the FTA to initiate a probe into..." blah, blah, blah.

Answer 1

"To apply to" doesn't work here, but "to petition" does. Other alternatives are "to appeal to," "to request" or simply "to ask." I would recommend the latter:

An NGO asked the FTA to investigate...

"To apply" in this kind of context means to seek permission to do something or to seek acceptance into a group or organization. You can apply for a job, for a driver's license, or for a construction permit, etc. But it is not a request for someone else to do something.