Game concept
Criminal Contract
The game also links it as Criminal Contracts, Criminal Contract's, Criminal Contracts'.
From the game's encyclopedia
A Criminal Contract typically involves seedy contracts that may be lucrative, but will award you Gallowsbait Trait Experience.
Levelling the Gallowsbait Trait will make most of the world hate you more and respect you less, and eventually cause Followers of yours who disapprove of your brigandry to dramatically leave your employ.
Gallowsbait is a highly negative Trait, meaning a character is a petty criminal of the lowest order — at least a murder at court has some kind of class to it.
It can be scrubbed clean with the Wipe Slate Decision.
The game's text for patch 1.20.1.2. Words in blue are entries of the encyclopedia: hover one to read it, as in the game.
Criminal Contract is an entry of Crusader Kings III's in-game encyclopedia. The game explains it: "A Criminal Contract typically involves seedy contracts that may be lucrative, but will award you Gallowsbait Trait Experience." It is part of task_contracts. The game also links it as Criminal Contracts, Criminal Contract's and Criminal Contracts'. Patch 1.20.1.2, from game/common/game_concepts/07_ep3_game_concepts.txt and game/localization/english/game_concepts_l_english.yml.
Source: game/common/game_concepts/07_ep3_game_concepts.txt, game/localization/english/game_concepts_l_english.yml and the English localisation, Crusader Kings III 1.20.1.2.