bain riyadh - spooked by coffee chat

i recently had a coffee chat with a bain riyadh consultant (not adding exact role) and they basically said if i don't have a referral and just apply from the website, i have almost zero chances of hearing back. they also said that the riyadh office in particular does not read cover letters or cv's save for looking for big brand names. additionally, they mentioned that hiring is paused for south asian nationals. i'm spooked. i've tried reaching out to others to see if i can get more information and see if they will corroborate this but i've had no luck getting replies. any help is appreciated.