NEW YORK (AP) – New York City’s comptroller has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department to investigate whether Wal-Mart illegally spied on some of its shareholders.

The request follows reports in The Wall Street Journal that the giant retailer had an internal security team that secretly investigated employees and critics, including shareholders expected to challenge some of the company’s policies at an annual meeting.

The company did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

In letters to government officials, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson said his office, which controls $400 million worth of Wal-Mart stock through government pension funds, was among those targeted by the surveillance effort.

Mr. Thompson called Wal-Mart’s surveillance activities “ill-considered and possibly illegal” in the April 9 letters to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox and Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty.

“This conduct reflects breathtakingly flawed judgment and raises significant questions regarding Wal-Mart’s commitment to its shareholders and the public markets,” he wrote in his letter to Mr. Cox.

The comptroller’s office reportedly drew Wal-Mart’s attention after submitting a proposal asking it to abide by a code of conduct that would govern its operations in Northern Ireland.

Mr. Thompson also wrote Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott, calling the company’s defense of its activities, “mystifying and outrageous.”

Wal-Mart has confirmed that it asked an internal security team to research certain shareholders in advance of the company’s annual meeting on June 1, but a spokeswoman has described the effort as “mainly using the Internet and other public sources to obtain background information.”