Fines writer with criminal links (9)
I believe the answer is:
penalties
'fines' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'writer with criminal links' is the wordplay.
'writer with' becomes 'pen' (I've seen this in other clues).
'criminal' becomes 'al' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'links' becomes 'ties' (tie can mean a connection or link).
'pen'+'al'+'ties'='PENALTIES'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for penalties that I've seen before include "parking fines" , "Punitive impositions in Palestine" , "Fines or forfeitures in Palestine" .)