Crossword Genius

Swindle flourished: moneylenders flee (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

flimflam

'swindle' is the definition.
(flimflam is a kind of swindle)

'flourished moneylenders flee' is the wordplay.
'flourished' becomes 'fl' (I've seen this in other clues).
'moneylenders' becomes 'imf' (International Monetary Fund).
'flee' becomes 'lam'.
'fl'+'imf'+'lam'='FLIMFLAM'

(Other definitions for flimflam that I've seen before include "rot" , "Deception - nonsense" , "swindle" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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