I once applied to an MNC through a recruiter. The hiring manager gave a positive feedback to the recruiter. However the final confirmation was pending from HR. I called up the hiring manager and he told me that he had given the go-ahead to hire, but HR had to check with their global team and follow their approval process.
He advised me to dump the recruiter since it was not an agency that the MNC usually uses. Finally nothing came out of it. I later applied for another position with another manager through an established recruiter and this time I got the position.