A German-Afghan man on trial for membership in al-Qaida says the terrorist group did end up with money he had sent from Germany but the funds had been intended for his own expenses.

Ahmad Wali Siddiqui, 37, has previously told the state court in Koblenz that he lived in an apartment in Pakistan near the Afghan border provided by al-Qaida, but that he was not a member of the organization. He testified Tuesday that in 2010 he arranged for money to be sent from Hamburg to be picked up by an al-Qaida contact in Pakistan AP reported.

He said his brother in Germany and his sister in Egypt helped him transfer the undisclosed amount. He says he never saw the funds again but they had been intended for his expenses and not to fund terrorism.