In for a penny, in for a pound

"In for a penny, in for a pound" is a common enough phrase in English. It means that if you have committed even a little bit to some scheme, you may as well make a major commitment. From Wiktionary we have:

Originally with reference to the fact that if one owed a penny, one might as well owe a pound, as the penalties for non-payment were virtually identical in severity.

In Europe, a pound is the standard unit of currency in England, and only in England. How did this phrase find it's way into a novel (The Widow Killer by Pavel Kohout, page 177) written by a Czech, in Czech, about Czechs and Germans? Since I didn't read it in Czech, it must have been put in by the translator. However, to use a phrase like this must mean there is a phrase of similar meaning in Czech. I wonder what it is, and if it even has anything to do with money?