Villain caught associate surrounded by proceeds of robbery (9)
I believe the answer is:
scallywag
'villain' is the definition.
(scallywag is a kind of villain)
'caught associate surrounded by proceeds of robbery' is the wordplay.
'caught' becomes 'c' (cricket abbreviation).
'associate' becomes 'ally' (ally is a kind of associate).
'surrounded by' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'proceeds of robbery' becomes 'swag' (swag can mean items stolen in a robbery).
'c'+'ally'='cally'
'cally' placed inside 'swag' is 'SCALLYWAG'.
(Other definitions for scallywag that I've seen before include "Good-for-nothing - undersized animal" , "Scoundrel" , "Scamp" , "Delinquent" , "Rogue" .)