Crossword Genius

Shady group of men stealing pounds (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

unlit

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'shady' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'group of men stealing pounds' is the wordplay.
'group of men' becomes 'unit' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'stealing' is an insertion indicator.
'pounds' becomes 'l' (abbreviation e.g. Lsd - pounds, shillings, pence).
'unit' going around 'l' is 'UNLIT'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for unlit that I've seen before include "Shady" , "dim" , "Not yet fired up" , "Not illuminated" , "Until (anag.)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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