I think they meant: 窃钩者诛，窃国者侯 qiègōuzhě zhū, qièguózhě hóu He who steals a belt buckle pays with his life; he who steals a state gets to be a feudal lord.
Yes, it is a Chinese idiom.
The same in Spanish. Steal a hen, get a harsh sentence. Steal millions, you are now a respectable 'businessman'.
The law locks up the man or woman Who steals the goose from off the common But leaves the greater villain loose Who steals the common from off the goose.
Kill a man you're a murderer. Kill millions and you're a statesman.
Pretty sure that’s known as The Blair Doctrine.
Or the Stalin doctrine, "One death is a tragedy, a million deaths a statistic"