Also among the largest donors were a Nigerian businessman who was close to the onetime military ruler in that African country, a Ukrainian tycoon who was son-in-law of that former Soviet republic's authoritarian president and a Canadian mining executive who took Mr. Clinton to Kazakhstan while trying to win lucrative uranium contracts.

Such contributions could provoke suspicion at home and abroad among those wondering about any effect on administration policy.

Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said donations from "countries where we have particularly sensitive issues and relations" would invariably raise concerns about whether Mrs. Clinton had conflicts of interest. "The real question," Mr. Levitt said, "is to what extent you can really separate the activities and influence of any husband and wife, and certainly a husband and wife team that is such a powerhouse."

The potential for appearances of conflict was illustrated by Amar Singh, a politician in India who gave $1 million to $5 million. Mr. Singh visited Washington in September to lobby for a deal allowing India to obtain civilian nuclear fuel and technology even though it never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. He met with Mrs. Clinton, who he said later assured him that Democrats would not block the deal. Congress approved it days later.

